Hear No Evil
by M. Michelon
Summary: Hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. That's the way the saying goes. But what happens when the saying is changed? What happens when it becomes hear nothing, see everything? What do you do then? What do you become?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Okay, here's Paul's story; just the preface. But it'll pick up where ****_Consequences_**** leaves off in the next couple of chapters. Enjoy!**

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**Preface**

"Goodnight, Dad." I marched up the stairs, pulling my long hair over my shoulder as I went. It wasn't late, but Dad knew that I went to bed early. Or at least, that's what he thought.

I sat on the edge of my bed for a few moments, waiting for Dad to decide that I had gone to sleep. I pulled the window open, hoping that it didn't creak. One day I wanted an award for my ability to do this in a dress or skirt without ripping anything. I least I didn't think I ripped anything.

I leaned forward until I could reach my hands around the thickest branch that reached my window. The wind chilled me to the bone, whipping my light shrug jacket as I dangled from the tree. I could see the lights in the kitchen turn on a little ways below me. Carefully making my way across the branch, cautious of any tremors that may occur. Once to the safety of the trunk, I stretched my five-foot-ten frame to reach the branch below me, releasing the one I was holding and hoping for the best.

The light went off. I waited a few moments for the one in his room to go on before I dropped into the soft grass, landing on my back and losing my wind. I pushed myself up then and began sprinting towards Penny's.

The forest was so beautiful at night, the lunar light casting a silver glow on everything that was normally wet and green. If I could sit out here, without being terrified that is, I would sit and daydream all night. So, I guess that would be night dreaming… which is what _normal_ people do when they sleep. Finally, Penny's little shack of a house came into view. Her lights were on, shining through the darkness of the forest.

I didn't bother knocking, just pushed her door open. I finally came into her sight. "Took you long enough." I stuck my tongue out her. "Your clothes are in the dryer." As far as cousins went, Penny was kind of incredible. She had kept my secret for so long, it was kind of amazing. And considering Dad was the only adult family that she had left, it was even more amazing.

I changed out of my old fashioned dress, undoing the long line of buttons down my back. God I hated those damn buttons. And the dresses. It was just a bad combination. I was happy when I had changed into my jeans that I kept at Penny's. "Are you ready to head out?" Penny just nodded, leading me towards the garage. It took us a few moments to get the bikes and helmets together. My cousin's hand on my arm.

"What happened?" Her thumb swiped across the little cuts on my knuckles.

"I didn't listen and respond quick enough." Oh the irony of my life.

"Maybe you should talk to your dad about getting out of those classes."

"Like that will ever happen." We both laughed.

I pulled my helmet over my head and straddled my bike, lowering my goggles while Penny was still chatting away. I kicked it on, leaving Penny somewhere behind me, undoubtedly shouting some curses under her breath. When we finally made it to the track hidden in the bushes, fingers tapped my shoulder, just beside where my tank top strap ended. "Are you sure you want to do this tonight?" Oh Penny; ever the worrier.

"Everything will be fine. Just a quick little run and then we'll be out of here. I have to get back before my dad realizes that I'm gone." She nodded and pointed towards the track.

"The douche-bags are here." I rolled my eyes. Of course they were here; they never left. But they never won either. "You sure you want to race tonight?"

"I never want to race. I want to ride." I pulled my helmet over my head again and zoomed off before Penny could frame a reply. I rode over the bank of the hill, directly over to the beginning of the track. As soon as I saw the flag fly down, I released my brakes and flew down the hill. I could see Penny out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't really care. She was going to be worried whether I won, lost, fell, or made it through just fine.

Everything was buzzing by me in a blur, the trees melding together to become various shades of green. Like if someone took green, black, and white and smeared their hand across a piece of a paper. The cold night air smacked my arms as my back tire bounced on the first whoop, the rest I didn't really feel. I leaned with the turn, shifting my gear as I stuck my foot out against the dirt. I rounded the next turn in a similar method, winding through the track and spraying mud behind me. Finally the jump came.

God I loved jumps. There was a weightlessness that came with them. I sped up a little, flying up the the slight incline, pressing my knees a little straighter, leaning forward, and watching the three flattop jumps disappear below. My back tire landed first, my weight shoving the front tired back to the ground. It was like being a bird for just a moment.

For just that moment I was free. I could forget that I had to go to etiquette in the morning. I could forget that I had a history project due. I could forget that my finals were coming up. I could forget everything and feel the air hit my skin. I passed over another set of whoops, feeling like I was in space again for just a moment. I cut through a side path, avoiding the large mound of dirt and ended up at the beginning. Penny was glaring at me. I just rolled my eyes and headed her way. "Your turn?"

"Have all the fumes finally gotten to your head? I just tag along to make sure you don't die."

"It's not going to kill you to give this a try."

"I beg to differ."

"You're being stupid again."

"You're always stupid."

"Remind me again how you became an emancipated minor with comebacks like those?"

"Bitch."

"Whore."

"Slut."

"Cow."

"Wow, wow, that was too far. You should get home. It's almost eleven."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere tomorrow."

"After the bonfire. You get to be normal like the rest of us after the bonfire. Stick it out."

I fell into bed, having first changed from my normal clothing to the dresses that my father expected me to wear, and finally from that shit into my nightgown. I don't know what my father thought he would succeed at by sticking me in the fifties, but he clearly had some thought process. I couldn't really fault him though. He was the greatest father a girl could ask for. Especially a girl like me. I rolled onto my stomach, arms wrapped around my pillow.

After the bonfire. I could be normal after the bonfire.


	2. Chapter I

**Author's Note: This is a Paul imprint story. This is ****_Paul_****, and he isn't exactly known for his LANGUAGE. I have no intention of making him nicer or kinder or anything that he's not. He's the bad boy with the bad past. He is more dynamic than people realize (at least in my version of ****_Twilight_****). This story coincides with my other stories ****_The Consequences _****and ****_Some Hearts but Not Mine. _****If you want to know the back stories for the OC's mentioned, that would where you'd find out more about them. Anyways, here's chapter one. Next chapter will be up tomorrow. I post everyday, by the way.**

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**Chapter I:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Stupid fucking Quil; why did he have to go and imprint? This shit wasn't supposed to happen like this. It was supposed to be rare. It was supposed to be something that only a few of us did. Not all _but_ a few of us. "Get out of here," Quil said, clutching the little girl to his chest. What was I going to do to her? "Get out, Paul!" he shouted. The brat flinched into his chest.

So I did as he asked and walked away. Because I couldn't want someone to hurt my baby sister. Ariana was a tough little kid, but I could imagine a group of wolves shouting around her would scare her. And I wouldn't want that for her. So I ran and ran and ran until the moon was high in the sky and I didn't want to phase anymore. I found myself standing in the middle of no where, the sound of engines revving smacking my face. So I followed it. Because curiosity may kill a cat, but I was a wolf.

We had heard the engines before, but Sam had told us we didn't need to worry about it. Just some kids on dirt bikes fucking around. But now that I was right here and I could hear people actually doing stuff, it wouldn't hurt to take a look. The smell of gas and the exhaust fumes where like a wall surrounding the property. Some kid that couldn't be much older that little Clearwater was waving a flag, but there were only three people on the track and it didn't look like they were racing. But it they were, the dude flying in the air a couple hundred feet in front of them would be winning.

He landed, not seeming the least bit concerned that he had just been flying through the air at breakneck speeds and the he could've died at any point in that. I watched, kind of impressed, as the kid sprayed dirt at the two that he had just lapped, finishing his third quickly and stopping in front of some girl that was waiting for him. Scrawny little kid. Stupid little kid. Probably going to get himself killed on that thing. Although he did look like he knew what he was dong.

He stood off his bike and pulled his helmet off and I wanted to smack myself. This was no dude. No this was some stupid, gutsy chick with something to prove. And I had she was dumb before. Her long black hair slipped out of her helmet, falling just below her ass. She and her friend laughed a little before jumping back on their bikes and speeding off into the night. Stupid girl; she was definitely going to get herself killed.

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Stupid fucking bonfire. Catherine was waiting for me and I had to go to this shit first. I had a reputation around the Reservation, but it wasn't anything like people thought. Everyone thought that they knew me, that they understood. What they didn't know was how this shit storm actually started. I had been going around with this girl freshman year. We had gone pretty far, but not all the way. And when she wanted to, I told her know. No, see I was too scared to do that, which seemed stupid. But _that_ was how my mom got knocked up. And her getting knocked up is why she married my dad and ultimately why she left us in the dust. No, sex was the reason for all the shit in my life

When I'd told Allison no, she just went around and told everyone we had. She wanted to be the coolest in her little clique, ya know? Catherine was the first girl that I had actually given anything to, but everyone wanted to be able to say that they had fucked me. And thus my reputation was born. Allison's friend K.C. had said that she'd fucked me and Allie asked how it was, making up bullshit stories about me and my abilities. But Catherine was the only one. Catherine and I weren't an item; no she was pretty much against labels. But she knew what she was doing, so she was a good place to start. But relationships and marriage were just fucked up conventions that forced people to be miserable for the rest of their lives. And imprinting was the worst. Because not only did you get your choice taken away from you, you were stuck with the person forever. And after Ryanne had her seizure, I could safely say that imprint was shit for both parties.

Stupid fucking bonfire. We were here to celebrate the Pack and the imprints and blah, blah, blah. I was here for the free food; let's just be honest. I was never going to imprint. What girl would want anything to do with the man-whore of La Push? I mean, let's forget the fact that my dad was a good-for-nothing drunk-off-his-ass prick. Let's forget that my mother had walked out because nothing in this place was good for her. Let's forget that I could _never_ leave the Rez because of I was an ancient, shape shifting Spirit Warrior. I was a bad guy before and I was still a bad guy now.

At least one good thing came from this bonfire. It was a chance for all of us to act normal. There were too many people that could be on the beach on a Friday night. So we did normal things, like play football and roast marshmallows and laugh and tease each other. Nothing remotely related to wolves. Until Embry threw the fucking ball.

I sprinted after it, running a little faster than the average human, my hands reaching up to grab the ball. And then I collided with something warm and soft, silky fabric brushing over my arms. Shit; I'd hit someone. I could see that it was a girl, but other than that, I was lost in a sea of pastel pink fabric. Better not kill her by landing on top of her.

I twisted us so that she was lying on my chest, wrapping my arms around her torso to anchor her in place. And then I opened my eyes.

Almond eyes stared into mine, chocolate brown with flecks of hazelnut staring down at me. I wasn't sure what she saw there, but she was staring, so I took it as an invitation. Her skin was a little lighter than mine, but still golden and tanned and beautiful. Her nose was little and straight, the flat surface tweaking up just a little at the tip. Her lips were a little more pink than red, but she didn't have any of that lip junk that girls were so prone to wearing now a days. Her hair was parted down the middle, long and fine like the strings that make up silk. I smoothed it away from her cheek and then realized that I was doing. "Fuck! God damn it! Why fucking me?" I screamed. I had fucking imprinted.

Of all the things to happen to me, I would imprint on some girl that I had never seen before. And that was saying a lot because this shit hole wasn't exactly large. Her eyes went wide as I started shouting at her and she took off running. Good. And stay away from me. God damn it; why me? I jogged back towards the guys, still fuming about something that was beyond my control. Why did it have to be me? Why not Embry? He wants kids. He wants a family. I mean, we don't all think about that shit and I wasn't sure what I wanted. Embry knew that he wanted that shit. Why not give him some soulmate to love for all eternity? Damn!

"What the hell is your problem?" Jake asked, smacking the back of my head.

"I fucking imprint on that little bitch!" I screamed, cringing inside when I called her a bitch. I didn't know her and I didn't get to make the judgement. But for the love of all that was holy, why me?

"Congrats, man," Quil said. Yeah that would be his reaction. His leash belong to a two-year-old who couldn't even say his name right. And he enjoyed this shit now. Oh yeah, he was just as whipped as the rest of them.

"No; no congrats! I don't want a fucking imprint," I snarled, pacing in the sand. But damn was she ever beautiful. I mean, I don't think there was a stitch of makeup on that face and she was literally breathtaking. No, that was just the imprint. That had nothing to do with her. She could've had three eyes and warts and the imprint would've made her look beautiful. But the imprint couldn't change how ridiculously soft her hair was, like the softest baby blanket in the world.

"Whether you want her or not, you've got her," Jake said. "The least you can do is go apologize." He pointed towards the forest that she had gone sprinting into. "You scared the everliving shit out of her, Paul."

I hadn't meant to scare her. I just wasn't ready for this shit. No, I liked my life just the way it was and having an imprint was only going to screw this shit up. And yet, there went my feet, running after her.

I caught up with them easily, my newfound imprint hugging some girl and walking off in the other direction. What the hell was she thinking walking through the forest at night and alone? What if there was leech? Clearwater was just a brat, something could easily slip by him. "Hey!" I shouted. She didn't turn around. "Hey, look, I'm sorry that I screamed at you." Still nothing. "Come on, the least you can do is turn around and look at me." Although I didn't mind the view from back here either. "My name's Paul," I said, wondering if her parents had some don't talk to strangers rule. Still nothing. "Seriously? Hard to get only works if you give in a little."

I caught her elbow and spun her around. "What the fuck is your problem?" I shouted in her face. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at my mouth for a moment before moving back to my eyes. She wiggled out of my grasp and began walking backwards. "I was just trying to apologize for yelling at you!"

"She's deaf, dumb ass," a voice said behind me. I recognized the girl. Penn Rivers. Bad ass chick. Didn't give a fuck what anyone had to say. "And yelling at her isn't helping her read your lips any." She turned her attention to the girl, their hands flying in rapid motions that made no sense to me.

Shit. Of all the imprints I could get, I had to get the deaf one. Fuck me.


	3. Chapter II

**Author's Note: Okay, here's what's going to happen. The POV will be indicated after every title chapter. This story will be updated between 1 and 4 p.m. during the weekdays and 4 and 6 on the weekends. I have three stories that I update daily, so I try to give myself enough time to write and think. On busy days, the chapter might be a little shorter than I like, but that's what happens I guess. Anyways, enjoy!**

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**Chapter II:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

"I'm sorry," I whispered, stumbling back. "That's all I was trying to say; I'm sorry." Her hands flew in front of her face, palms towards me like she was trying to tell me that everyone was okay. No; it wasn't okay. Nothing about this was okay. Not only did I fucking imprint, but I had to imprint on some deaf chick. God damn it.

She turned towards Penn and made more gestures that I had no hope of understanding. "She says that everything is fine," Penn spoke. "Don't worry about it. It was an accident. I should've been paying more attention." I nodded. "Paying more attention to what? What did you do to my cousin, LaHote?"

Royally fucked up her life. "Nothing; I ran into her," I said. "I'm just trying to apologize. I didn't know that you were deaf."

"It's fine," Penn said, staring at her cousin. "I understand; accidents happen. Apology accepted. We've got to go." The beautiful girl glared at Penn, her hands on her hips. "Sorry; _she's_ got to go. Stubborn bitch." I growled at her. The girl didn't do anything wrong. She just wanted her words to be her own.

"I'm really sorry that I shouted at you," I apologized again.

"Don't worry about it," Penn vocalized again. "I have to get going." With that she turned and walked off into a deeper part of the forest. "Don't fuck around with my cousin, LaHote. I'll cut your balls off," Penn warned before disappearing into her own area of the woods.

What kind of self respecting cousin doesn't at least make sure the younger girl gets home? I don't even know her name! And none of this should matter because she wasn't going to accept this imprint. I could feel my arms shaking and fire burning in the pit of my stomach, flames licking at my heart and lungs, my breath coming in shallow gasps until I was a wolf. Well, that was going to be a new pair of shoes.

She smelled like jasmine and oranges, a scent that I could easily distinguish from the surrounding pine and woodsy smell of the forest. So I followed her, nose to the ground. _Whatcha looking for? _little Clearwater asked. Why did he have to be the one on patrol? Well, probably better him than Leah or Jake or someone else who would give me shit about imprinting.  
_You imprinted!_

Shut up, Seth!

_Who is she? _

Seth, go to the bonfire; I'll take over your patrol.

_But Sam-_

Tell him I told you to leave. It'll be fine. Just go, I bellowed at him. As soon as he was out of my head, I went back to finding the girl. The trees began thinning out and her smell grew a little stronger. From my spot crouched underneath a bush, I could see her tan legs dangling about ten feet in the air. What the hell was she doing? Did this girl have a death wish? Great; just fucking great. Not only was she deaf, she was suicidal. She swung herself a little, gaining her momentum until her feet were able to reach the windowsill.

She shimmied her way to the next branch, one that ran perpendicular to the house instead of the parallel one she was clinging to now. I could see her arms straining to hold her up, but she didn't look like it was too hard. In fact, she looked like this was something she did on a regular basis. Not a comforting thought for me. I watched her inch her way forward until her knees were through the window. Her legs stuck out straight instead of bending. She exhaled and then stopped breathing, releasing her hold on the branch and holding herself up. I could only imagine what her stomach looked like. The wolf in me was purring, thinking of all the things that I could teach her, wondering what she would look like under me.

And while I had been thinking, she had sat herself upright, gripping the bottom of the window and puling herself into the room. She quickly turned and slammed it shut, but she left the blinds open. So, like the whipped little dog that I was, I watched her with a curious eye as she pulled various dresses and skirts out of her closet and drawers. Did she own anything that wasn't a skirt? And everything was so modest, so opposite of the clothing that the girls I knew wore. Well, unless you counted Emily, Leah, Ryanne, and Kim. But I didn't because they were all taken. And I had known most of them since I was a kid. Well, except for Kim; but I didn't pay any attention to her. She was just a little wallflower that _never_ spoke.

After what seemed like forever, the little bedside light went off. I waited a little longer, sneaking up underneath her window and listened to her soft snores sailing out the window. Her heart rate slowed little by little until everything went silent, even her snores. I looked up at her, wishing this could be simpler. No; I was wishing that this imprint wasn't an actual thing. I didn't want this. I was happy with my reputation, with my life. I didn't need some deaf bitch to change that.

Okay, so I wasn't exactly happy with my life. I could definitely say that there were points that could use some help. Like home. The smell of Dad's beer was like a slap in the face. You would figure two heart attacks later, he would have figured out that drinking and eating burgers every night was not helping him. "Paul!" he shouted as I opened the door. Here we go again.

"Yes Dad."

"You worthless piece of shit," he growled. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"At work, Dad," I said as I headed for the kitchen.

"You don't work you good for nothing, lousy, lying," he grumbled, taking a swig of his beer and lying down on the couch. He was talking more in his sleep now than anything else, the beer hanging loosely by the neck. Once he was snoring, I rescued our carpets from yet another beer, tipping the entire bottle upside down in the sink. Dad grumbled, almost choking on his own spit.

"Come on, Dad," I said, hauling him up to his feet. "Let's get upstairs. You got work tomorrow."

He groaned and grumbled. "Your mother left because of you," he growled.

"I know Dad."

"She doesn't love you."

"I know Dad."

"You're nothing but shit, you lazy son of a-" He was cut off by a little stream of his own blood. One day soon, his liver was going to fail. As long as it didn't happen before I was eighteen, I didn't really care.

When I was younger, I wanted to impress him. I did everything and anything to prove that I was good enough to be his son. In elementary school, I did the whole goody-two-shoes thing. I got the straight A's, the perfect attendance, the student of the month. I did it all. He didn't care. So I went backwards around middle school. I stopped caring about my grades and my school life. I got in a little trouble with the law, selling drugs down at Forks High. I didn't enjoy my bad boy reputation until high school when I became known as the man whore. And while I didn't have sex with every girl that I saw, I'd do other things with any girl that threw herself at me. Now I didn't give a fuck what Dad wanted. He didn't like me no matter what I did.

"You can't even take an insult like a man," Dad said, pulling me back to the present.

"I know, Dad."

I tucked him into his bed, turning out the light as I exited. The bills were piled on his bedside table. I grabbed the ones I deemed most important, the house, water, and electricity. I had gotten into a lot of trouble dealing drugs, but if it wasn't for that money stashed away, we would've lost out house months ago.

So I signed the checks and stuffed them in the envelope before rolling to bed. What girl wanted a part of this shit? I was a fucked up delinquent whose mother had left and whose father was an alcoholic. Poor girl.


	4. Chapter III

**Author's Note: I am letting everyone know tonight that I might be a little late on tomorrow's update. We'll see what happens as the day goes on. There WILL be a chapter posted, I just don't know what time. The chapter today is written from Paul's imprint's POV (don't worry, you find out her name today). Please let me know which POV you prefer so that we can determine a normal POV for the story. Thanks all and enjoy!**

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**Chapter III**

As far as clothing went, I was stuck in a world of dresses. My father had this idea about what I should look like. I wore whatever my father wanted, without saying anything about it. As the years went by, Dad and I had come to a compromise about everything that I did. Prime example: my shoes. My father wanted me to look like one of those little girls from the 50s, who wore the poodle skirts and those Ked shoes. But as I got older, my hemline got shorter and my shoes changed. I stopped wearing the tennis shoes and old-school sandals. Now I wore gladiator sandals and ankle boots that I felt helped me look a little older.

After I had my minor encounter with a greek god in the form of a human being, I had walked away with arrhythmia. And then, he'd followed me through the forest to the house. Thank God Penny was there because he was more than a little frustrated that I couldn't hear him. I could see his face getting a little redder and his arms shaking as he realized what was wrong with me. And after I had walked all the way back to the house, I spent close to an hour picking out my clothing.

Because two days from now was the first day that I was going to be able to be a normal teenager. No more homeschooling for me. I was finished with it. No ma'am, I was done with being the reservation's shut in. I was going to have a normal life from now. My life was going to consist of more than just sitting at home, training and practicing, and my midnight excursions. It was time for me to start living my life.

I selected the least old-fashioned looking of my dresses. It was one that my father never really liked, but I was in love with it. The tank top straps showed off my arms, which were long, lean, and toned. And it stopped shorter than Dad would like, about three inches above my knees. The fabric was a pastel blue that I would probably consider my favorite. It was almost more silver than blue. I pulled on black ankle boots that my dad probably wouldn't like. But this day was about me. And I was going to enjoy every moment.

Maybe not every moment. I was standing in my first period government class, staring at the teacher's mouth. Her lips were open wide, pursed forward. And then she stuck her tongue out of her mouth. I couldn't tell if she was shouting at me or trying to enunciate so that I would understand what she was saying. Either way, it wasn't working. I just stared at her, until her gaze snapped somewhere about eight inches above my head. "Well since you seem to know Miss Rivers already, Mr. LaHote, you won't mind sitting with her and helping her catch up, what with your vast knowledge of the American government."

Why couldn't she talk like that when she was trying to talk to me. "Charlotte, why don't you turn around and follow Mr. LaHote." She exaggerated each motion with her mouth that I was hoping I was interpreting her correctly. And I had insisted I didn't need an interpreter. What had I been thinking. Either way, I turned in the direction that Ms. Adams pointed in.

And found that god that had almost killed me on the beach.

He waved at me. "I'm Paul." I nodded and pointed to myself and cupped my hand in the shape of a 'C'. I twisted my hand to the side, holding out two fingers running parallel to the ground. "I don't know what you're saying." Of course he didn't. Because no matter how much he had stared at me Saturday night, he still wasn't deaf. That much had been clear the first day that I met him. "Will you follow me?" I nodded, and followed him to the double desk that he had laid his stuff on.

I laid my bag on his desk, trying to respect boundaries and keep things from spilling over onto his side. I sat down, pulling out a red tipped pencil, notebook, and binder. I had organizational problems, okay? It's not quite OCD, but pretty damn close. I opened the book ad wrote the class and date on it, doing anything and everything I could to keep my eyes off of the guy next to me. I was still dreaming of him after he'd rammed into me the night that Penny and I had snuck off to the bonfire. We would sit just close enough to where Penny could hear the legends and, with a few adjustments so that she could _actually_ sign them, she would translate them for me.

Paul slid a piece of paper across the desk at me with a pen on top of it. I looked up at him with a question in my eyes, at least I hoped that's what he would see. "For your name." I narrowed my eyes a little. "I want to know your name." I fought back a laugh. So I wrote my name across the paper in my sloppy cursive. "Charlie Rivers?" I nodded. "What's Charlie short for?" I took the paper back and scribbled my full name on it. "Charlotte?" I pulled the paper back to my side of the desk.

_You know that I can read lips, right? And I think you're smart enough to read. You've made it this far,_ I wrote. He pulled the paper away, a smile on his face as he scanned the page. "She's here." What? I pulled the paper out of his hand. _What? Who's here?_

_Adams just called your name,_ he scribbled back. His handwriting was a little better than chicken scratch.

_Oh, thanks._ I turned my attention to the woman at the front of the class. And the lecture had to be the most boring thing that I had ever watched. What Adams didn't understand was that every time she turned her face away from me, it was like turning off the T.V. I couldn't understand a single word of what was going on. I was struggling, copying down everything that was written on the board and anything that I could understand. I could have to reevaluate this no interpreter thing.

I wasn't sure what had happened, but suddenly everyone was standing and jamming themselves out the doors while Ms. Adams was still talking. I looked around, hoping to figure out what was going on. Something warm tapped my shoulder. I whipped around to see Paul standing there. "Class is over. Where are you headed next?"

I reached into my bag and pulled out the schedule that I had been given when dropped me off that morning. Paul's fingers grazed mine as he took the paper from me. Electricity zapped through me at that moment. I blushed and bit my lip as he read the paper, afraid to look away in case he wanted to say something to me. "I guess that's the good thing about going to a little school." I just stared at him. "We have the same schedule."

I guess that was a good thing. Penny was the same age as me, but before she'd become emancipated, her grades slipped and the school held her back a year. Technically speaking, I could've graduated a while ago, but I enjoyed school, even when it was just homeschooling. And now that I had the chance to be like everyone else, I wasn't ready for school to be finished. At least I knew someone. "You can just hang out with me today."

Paul led me out of the classroom then, into a hall of crowded people. There were teenagers around me, shoving their way into their own rooms and trying to get to their locker. I was being battered, feeling more like a fish swimming against the current. Something warm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me against a heated wall. Oh wait, that was Paul. He looked down at with a small smile. "You looked like you were getting a little dinged up out there." He released my shoulder, but his hand remained clamped around my upper arm. Every time I didn't react quick enough, he'd haul me out of the way.

First period's embarrassing process was repeated in second. Teachers assumed that deaf meant hard of hearing, I guess. Shouting at me wasn't going to make me hear them. I was a good lip reader for an umber of reasons. I could follow most conversations as long as someone was looking at me and didn't speak like a mad speed demon. But when someone shouts, their mouth moves in ways that are different from normal speech motions. It makes it harder, if not impossible, for me to understand what they're trying to say to me.

After class, Paul pulled me along with him through the hallways, helping me find my locker and open it. I knew that he was doing this out of pity; that I was the new deaf girl who couldn't navigate the school on her own. But it was nice to have someone watching out for me. And I felt safe with Paul. I mean, the kid was like seven feet tall. You'd be a fool to make him angry. He had a lot of muscle and a lot of body to power that muscle.

There were a group of boys standing a little ways away from us. They turned away from whatever they were doing and turned towards Paul and I. Okay, I didn't know much about this whole school thing, but I was pretty sure that you weren't just supposed to be walking in front of a guy that A: had tackled you and knocked the wind out of you and B: you had just met. But then again, I didn't really know anything about being normal.

Paul turned me around to face him. "Those are some of my friends; you want to eat with us?" I was mesmerized by his mouth. He moved it so well, each syllable emphasized by his lips in a way that made him easier to read than any person that I had met. I shook my head to respond to his question. He frowned.

I pulled out my little legal pad that I carried around for when I needed to talk to people who didn't understand sign. _I'm supposed to meet Penny for lunch,_ I scrawled.

"Penny?"

_My cousin; you met her the other night._

"Oh Penn." I nodded. I would have to remember that she didn't let anyone else call her Penny. "Well, can I sit with you guys?"

_Why?_

"Because I want to." He shrugged. So I mimicked the reaction and turned to walk away. His large hand clasped around my elbow and pulled me back. "Cafeteria's this way." I just nodded, red faced and embarrassed, but unable to hide it, and followed him.


	5. Chapter IV

**Author's Note: I know that it's super late. I was super busy today and pressed to get work and school stuff done. And unfortunately, I don't get paid to do this. I would if I was good enough... but I'm not. Anyways, here's the chapter.**

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**Chapter IV**

True to his word, Penny was standing outside the cafeteria waiting for me to arrive. She smiled when she saw me and then frowned as her eyes rose to Paul's eye level. "What are you doing with him?" I frowned at her.

"We sit next to each other in my morning classes."

"Why is he here?"

"Because he asked if he could sit with us."

"What do you want with my cousin, LaHote? I thought I warned you."

"Penny!" I stepped in front of Paul. "He didn't do anything to me. Trust me, you would be the first person that I would tell. He didn't do anything. He's been really nice and he's been sitting with me in all my classes and helping me out."

"He's not a nice guy, Charlie. He's got a reputation."

"I don't." She glared at me. "I don't know him, Penny. Are you going to be just like my dad or are you going to let me make my own decisions?" Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed a little, a little red coming up under her skin. "He asked if he could eat lunch with us. Are you going to have a problem with that."

I watched her chest rise and fall with a heavy exhale. And then she turned on her heel and walked into the cafeteria, leading Paul and me to her usual table. At least, I assumed it was her usual table. Paul pulled me around to look at him before we could sit down. "Everything okay?" I just nodded, my hands flying up to start signing, but quickly falling. There was no point. So I just nodded again and took my place on the bench.

"So when did you decide to stop hanging out with the clones, LaHote?" Leave it to Penny to start off a conversation with a rude question. I looked up at Paul, but I wasn't quick enough to catch what he was saying. "And you're suddenly a good student, huh?"

"Penny knock it off." I pursed my lips and glared at her, giving her the same warning look I always did. "Paul has been nice to me all day. It's my first day of school, Penny. Can't I just make friends with someone without having it be an issue?"

"I'm just looking out for you."

"That's what my dad says too. And it's why I haven't been allowed to be around people for almost seventeen years. Paul is just being nice."

"Paul LaHote doesn't do nice; he _does_ anything with legs and vagina."

"If you're not going to let me make my own decisions," I pushed myself to my feet, "then I'll just go back to homeschooling."

I stepped over the bench and walked away, ignoring the eyes that were on me. A little hand on my arm pulled me around. "You said it yourself, you don't know him." I glared at my cousin. "But I do; I've gone to school with him for years, Charlie. He will fuck anyone that breathes and has boobs. You've never been to school and I don't want you to get played."

"Because I'm not smart enough to figure out stuff on my own, right?" She sighed. "That's the benefit f being deaf. You can't hear when people are placating you. You can't hear when their tone of voice when they're just messing with you. So you learn to read people. And I don't see anything about him that would make me distrust him. But you're driving me up a wall right now."

I walked away without another word… or sign I guess. I was tired of being forced into hiding. My dad had done it to me since I was a child and now Penny was trying to do it. This was my first chance to be at school, to be a normal teenage girl. And Penny couldn't even let me eat lunch normally. No, we had to have in argument in front of the rest of the school. I found myself at my locker, mostly because it was the only place that I could get to without getting lost.

I rested my forehead against the metal and breathed in deeply. I could feel my heart racing my throat as I fought to calm myself down. That was one of my worst qualities. I had a temper that could rival an angry bear. It's why dad let me get into diving when I was younger. I got too tall for competitions after a few years. Now I just went and practiced on my own and swam laps all day long. I was always angry about something and I usually let it get the best of me. But underwater, all your problems disappear. Underwater, everyone is just about as deaf as I am.

Something warm tapped my shoulder lightly. I turned to find Paul standing a foot away, holding my backpack. "Are you okay?" I nodded. "You don't look okay." I just shrugged this time. "What did Penn have to say?" I just shook my head. I didn't want him to know all the mean things that my cousin had said about him. It wasn't fair to him. I didn't know him; I had no right to judge him. People had reputations, earned or fictitious. I wasn't one to tell him how to live his life. Besides, we'd only just met. He was just someone that was taking pity on the deaf girl on campus. My friends online had told me about this.

"Lunch is just about over. Why don't you grab your Spanish stuff and I'll walk with you to class?" I opened my locker, watching Paul cringe as it pulled open. I pulled my three middle fingers down in a fist, leaving my thumb and pinky out so that my hand was shaped like a 'y'. I touched the knuckles of my hand to my chin and cocked my head to the side. "I don't sign." He looked like he regretted that.

I pulled my notepad out and repeated the sign. _It means what's wrong,_ I scribbled, handing him the page. I repeated it once again. He narrowed his eyes at me a little. I took his large, hot hand in mine and curled his fingers down, turning his hand so that his palm was facing his face and touched the hand to his chin. _What's wrong?_ I wrote.

"Got it. I'll remember that one." I smiled, but tapped my chin again, looking at him expectantly. "Nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?"

_You winced when I pulled open my locker._ I shrugged.

He frowned a little, but whatever was bothering him clearly wasn't important enough to keep the expression there. "Your locker squeaked really loud and I have really good hearing, so it kind of hurt." Naturally I would get to know someone who had good hearing. Wasn't that irony of life? I couldn't hear anything so the first person that I befriend _would_ be someone with great hearing. He tapped my shoulder, pressing his hand to his chin like I'd shown him. I smiled. "I didn't say something wrong, did I?"

I shook my head. _I was just thinking,_ I jotted. He just looked at me.

"Do I get to know what about?"

I shrugged. _Maybe._ He smiled as he read it. I grabbed it back._ I'll tell you what? You learn your entire alphabet in sign language tonight, and tomorrow I'll tell you what I was thinking about._

"Deal!" He smiled broadly. The halls began to fill with people; I assumed the bell had run. "Let's get to class and you can get to work on teaching me those letters."

He walked close beside me, keeping me from running into things as I scribbled on my legal pad. _The deal is that _**_you_**_ learn your alphabet; I'm not helping you._ He took the paper and read, managing to keep from running into anything while he read.

"That's - fair." I had seen his lips move, but he had turned away from me just a little to open the door. I just had to assume that he had decided that it wasn't fair.

"Paul, your girlfriend can go to her own class," the teacher said as we walked in. "Oh, I didn't realize. You are Señorita Rivers?" I nodded, tearing the page that Paul and I were writing on and handing it to him. I wrote back a greeting. "You can't speak?" I shook my head, embarrassed once again.

It was one of the worst things about being deaf. I needed to see people, to see their mouths and their expressions if I wanted to know what they were saying. So when I got embarrassed or scared and angry, I couldn't look away. No; I had to keep staring at them to make sure that I understood. "And you're deaf?" I just nodded again, wanting to crawl into a hole and disappear. "Of course, my apologies Señorita. Paul, would you mind explaining everything to Charlotte?"

A warm hand with rough fingertips wrapped around my forearm, just below my elbow and pulled me towards a back desk. "You really won't teach me?" I shook my head with a smile. "How - am - learn - nothing - use?" He wiped a hand down his face

_You know, there's this trick with lip reading; I need to see your lips._

His face fell as if I'd told him that he'd stabbed me or something. "I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking. How am I supposed to learn them if I have nothing to use to teach me?"

_You can find anything and everything on the internet._ He smiled down at me. _I think you're smart enough to figure out how to search for a few videos on YouTube. _He laughed… at least I think he did. His chest was shaking and his dimples in his cheeks deepened a little. I touched the tip of my finger to the little hole and smiled, watching him smile a little wider, his eyes on me the entire time. "Buenos dias, Señora." He pointed discreetly to the front of the room.

* * *

All too soon, the school day was over. While lunch had been less than a success, the rest of the day had been pretty fantastic. I knew most of the things that we were being taught, which was why the school had allowed me to join so late in the year. Paul helped me as best her could, letting me see his notes whenever I couldn't follow the lecture. And then the last bell rang, everyone stood up and packed their things, rushing out the door. I walked with Paul to my locker, stopping at his before heading to the school's parking lot. "Let me walk you to your car."

I shook my head. _My dad picks me up._ "I'll wait with you until he gets here." I smiled and nodded. Penn walked up, an apology in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." I smiled and nodded.

"I know."

"I don't want to be like your dad. He's a great guy and he's helped me a lot, but when it comes to parents, he's a little crazy." I smiled and giggled a little. "But, since we're talking about your dad." She must've been speaking at the same time, because her mouth moved. "LaHote should leave before your dad gets here. Your dad doesn't like boys in general; you can forget boys with the reputation that he has."

Paul's chest vibrated against my arm. I looked up to see him snarling, upper lip drawn back over his teeth. "I'm sorry." He took a wistful look at me and bounded off towards the forest line.

"Thanks Penny."


	6. Chapter V

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has been following and reviewing. I really appreciate it. And I apologize again for the fact that yesterday's chapter was up late. But I hope you all enjoy this one!**

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**Chapter V:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

It wouldn't be fair of me to put her through this, Jared, I said as we were running patrol. Jared and I had been friends before we became wolves. And while I was worrying about the imprint, he was the only person that I wanted to talk to about this. Mostly because he didn't want his imprint either. Well, now he did. But at the beginning, he was a little shocked.

_Paul, your life sucks ass, dude. _I growled._ Don't be like that; this is why you're talking to me, remember? Your sister is in and out of the hospital, your dad's a douche, and you're a wolf against your will. _

I don't mind it that much anymore.

_All I'm trying to say is, don't you think that you can have one good thing in your life? Maybe that's why the spirits gave her to you. She could be the thing that makes everything else worth it. That's what it's like for me and Kim. _

But what if she doesn't want to be around me? You said it yourself: my life sucks ass.

_You sound like a bitch_, he laughed._ Just don't fight it dude. That's all I'm trying to say. Let things happen like they do and see where it goes from there._

It didn't sound like too bad of an idea. I phased out of wolf form and pulled some clothes on, walking towards class. I wasn't going to fight this. Without Ari at the house, there was nothing there for me. But this girl, this imprint, she could be something for me. Jared was right. There was no need to fight this. I would just let it be whatever she wanted it to be. With that thought, I smiled and walked into the school.

"Are you Miss Char-," I could hear my government teacher shouting loudly and slowly, like she was talking to someone very slow. I pulled the door open, staring at an ass that I had been dreaming about all night.

"She's deaf, du," I started, but quickly cut off. Emily had made me promise I would stop calling my teachers derogatory names like dumb ass. "No matter how loud you are, she still won't be able to hear you, Ms. Adams."

"Well since you seem to know Miss Rivers already, Mr. LaHote, you won't mind sitting with her and helping her catch up," she said with an evil smirk. I wouldn't mind at all. "What with your vast knowledge of the American government."

I saw my imprint's shoulders slump a little like she was relieved. I nodded at Ms. Adams who turned her attention back to the girl in front of me. God her ass looked good in that little dress. And she had some of the best legs that I had ever seen. And I had seen a lot of legs in my time. "Follow Mr. LaHote," Ms. Adams said. Again with the screaming? She wasn't going to hear you, no matter what.

The thought saddened me, but I wiped it away as she followed Adams' crooked, gnarled finger to my chest. I waved at her. "I'm Paul," I said in my normal voice. She smiled a little and looked relieved that I didn't try to shout at her like our instructor. She pointed to herself and twisted her hand a little, making two different signs that I had no hope of understanding. I would have to get to work on this. "I don't know what you're saying," I admitted. She shrugged and dropped her hands. "Will you follow me?" She nodded and tossed her stuff on the desk, trying to keep it from overflowing onto my side. So she was considerate?

She pulled out things that were all color coordinated, down to her pencil. So she had mild OCD? Okay, I could live with this. I pulled out a paper, trying to think of the best way to get her to talk with me. I pushed it over to her side. Her eyebrows furrowed delightfully, the little lines in her forehead coming forward. Her eyes twinkled with question. "For your name," I explained. Her eyes narrowed a little more like she wasn't quite sure why. "I want to know your name." She smiled and bit her lip. _Charlie Rivers,_ she slid back to me. "Charlie Rivers?" She nodded. "What's Charlie short for?" She pulled the paper back._ Charlotte._ "Charlotte?"

She looked amused and pulled the paper back to her side. _You know that I can read lips, right? And I think you're smart enough to read. You've made it this far. _I guess it was wrong of me to assume that just because she was deaf, she wasn't smart and that she didn't have a sense of humor. She definitely had one. Smart ass. "Charlotte Rivers?"

"She's here," I said, pointing to her. The paper was ripped out of my hand, Charlotte's hand moving across it gently.

_What? Who's here?_ I didn't want to risk getting caught. I wrote in my chicken scratch instead of speaking.

_Adams just called your name._

_Oh, thanks._

Since I had become a wolf, I had gotten better about multitasking. So I listened to Adams and copied down every work that she said, but I was staring at Charlotte. Charlie was too familiar. She wasn't Charlie to me. I don't know if you would ever be. She was too beautiful, too feminine to be Charlie. I watched her freak out at the end of the class. There were so many things that had to be difficult about her life. She couldn't hear the bell. She couldn't hear something coming towards her. The things that could hurt her hand my heart pounding on edge. I tapped her shoulder and watched her wheel around and stare up at me. "Class is over." I thought about the hall way, all the people shouting, the jackass jocks that were going to be throwing footballs. "Where are you headed?"

I knew nothing but relief when I could see that we both had the same exact schedule. It happened a lot at La Push High. They tried really hard to mix it up, to put some of us seniors with the rest of the students. But we were a small school with a low budget. There was nothing we could do.

As I held the door open to walk with her to the next class, I could hear the roaring of other students in my ears. Charlotte gasped and made little sounds as she was getting banged around, shoved away from people rushing to pass by. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and brought her to my chest. God she smelled delicious. Her heart beat erratically in her chest, a little spastic. "You looked like you were getting a little dinged up out there," I said when she looked up at me with that same questioning expression.

Second period with Mr. Reynolds was no better than first. "Deaf doesn't mean hard of hearing, Mr. Reynolds," I said when I could see her cheeks turning red. She was struggling to read his lips as he overdid ever motion with his mouth. I offered to take her next to me since I was her imprint. Okay, well I said it was because I could help her.

She struggled with Reynolds lecture, since the teacher wrote with his back to the rest of the class. I kept noticing Charlotte trying to see what I was writing whenever she couldn't keep up. Finally, I slid the paper over so that it was more in the center of the desk. Her eyes followed my left hand, copying every word that I wrote. _Thank you,_ she scribbled along the bottom of my notes. I just smiled over at her. Looks like Emily was going to get her wish about me becoming a better student. I hadn't taken notes like these since I was a little kid.

After a little convincing, and the discovery of a junior legal pad, I convinced her to let me eat with her. But as I sat with her, it became abundantly clear that Penn Rivers wasn't my greatest fan. I had never minded having a reputation; it wasn't really something that bothered me. Until today. I had never had someone that I was trying to impress before. But here we were, sitting here. Charlotte kept signing, moving her hands quickly. The look on her face was unlike anything that I had ever seen. Charlotte suddenly pushed away from the table and, after a brief interlude with Penn in the middle of the cafeteria, she stormed away from the cafeteria.

I found her at the locker, resting her forehead against the metal of her locker. I tapped her shoulder and watched her turn towards me. "You okay?" She nodded. "You don't look okay." She just shrugged. Well, at least she wasn't lying to me. "What did Penn have to say?" She shook her head and I frowned. Clearly it was nothing good about me. Although there was the possibility that I didn't understand sign and she didn't feel like writing a noel to explain this to me. The bell rang, students started filing in.

Charlotte opened her locker, the hingers squeaking like nails on a chalkboard. I cringed at it. She lifted her hand to her chin in the shape of a 'y' and tapped her little chin. God I wished that I could understand her. I wished that I knew what she was trying to say. It would only make out lives easier. I wished that I could communicate with her on a level that she was comfortable with. "I don't sign," I said regretfully.

_It means what's wrong,_ she penned, repeated the motion to me. What was she talking about? She made the sign again, but I still didn't make the connection. And then she touched me.

She shoved three of my fingers down to my palm to make the letter and pushed the hand towards my face until I'd tapped my chin like she'd done. _What's wrong?_ she scribbled. The sign. She was teaching me. I smiled.

"Got it; I'll remember that one." Among other ones that I had every intention of learning tonight. My hands were still tingling from where she'd let her soft ones play with my fingers. I had never felt anything as amazing as her hands on mine.

I was a jackass; I knew I was. I had a bad reputation and a shitty life. But I could turn that around. And I wanted to. I walked with her to Spanish, impressed with her abilities. She took everything in stride, regardless of her deafness. And as we finished our day, her teasing me on her little junior pad, I couldn't help but be happy with this imprint.


	7. Chapter VI

**Author's Note: I know that it's late. Those who read ****_Consequences_**** know that I had work and a minor pet emergency this afternoon that prevented me from uploading. Anyways, this is short but it's ****_really_********important. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter VI:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Ariana was practically chewing my ear off, itching to tell me about the boy that she had met while she was at the hospital that day. "He was so cute, Paulie!" I winced. The nickname had stopped bothering me ages ago… But the boys! No boys for Ari. It wasn't happening. Not until she was seventy with no ass and saggy boobs. No, she wasn't going to date… Ever. "He said high to me while we were sitting there. And he's in high school." I groaned inwardly. Leave it to her to find some kid that she was just messing with her. "He was really nice and said that he hopes that we get to sit together again."

"That's great, Ari," I said, pulling up to the house. "Stay out of Dad's way when he gets home, okay?"

"Don't I always?"

"Ariana," I said with warning.

"I'll go straight to my room," she said.

"And you'll do your homework."

"You don't do homework!"  
"I'm in charge, Ari," I said. "And if it makes you feel better, I'll do my own homework before I go to work."

"Fine," she said with glee. "I don't even think you know how to do homework, Paulie."

"Paul!" Dad bellowed.

"Straight upstairs," I said, shoving the door open and pushing her towards the stairs.

"But Paul-"  
"Now, Ariana." She wiggled her way up the stairs, hopping up step by step to her room.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Dad slurred.

"I was picking up Ariana, Dad," I said, turning off the front porch light.

"Ariana?"

"Your daughter, Dad," I said.

"I know my own fucking daughter!" he bellowed.

I heard Ariana squeal upstairs and the frame of her bed squeak as she jumped under her covers. The life of a thirteen-year-old in this house was anything but Easy. I remembered that much from when I was a little. "Well that's good."

"Get me a beer," he screamed.

"I think you're done for the night Pop," I said. He rocketed off the couch and stumbled towards me.

"I know what I'm done and when I can keep going," he screamed. Ari screamed upstairs. I sighed.

"Fine, here," I said in a way that sounded like _Go die._ I handed him the beer and marched off to the little closet that I called a bedroom.

Our house had only come with two bedrooms. And before Ari was born, everything was fine. But she'd left when my baby sister was just that: a baby. And I had given her my bedroom so that she could grow up better than I had. And much like Harry Potter, I had taken up a closet under the stairs to house my little cot that I called a bed and the few items of clothing that I had. Before the wolf hearing, I had slept in Ariana's room on the floor, afraid of what my dad would do to her if I wasn't right there. Now a days, I only patrolled at night if Ari was spending the night in the hospital. Otherwise, I could sleep in the little hole I called a bedroom and protect her all the same.

The old laptop computer that was from some time in the early nineties was sitting on the top shelf waiting for me. I pulled it down and sank down on the bed. _Learn sign language online,_ I typed quickly. It was one of the things that people didn't know about me. They assumed that just because I didn't give two fucks about school, I wasn't able to type quickly. But most people didn't remember the Paul LaHote that used to do anything to make his father love him. That guy didn't exist anymore.

I filtered through the few dozen results on the front page, clicking on the top three and opening them. I was sitting on my little bed, my hand twisting and turning until I could complete the entire alphabet, song and all. I must've been at it for a while, because Ari came knocking at my door, the scent of baby powder and soap filled my nose. And blood; the strong stench of blood filled the air. I wrenched the door open to find Ari holding her nose.

I sighed and shook my head. "Come on," I said, lifting her in my arms. I placed her on the filthy kitchen counter, wishing that I'd had time to clean up before I'd brought her home. This place probably wasn't helping with her health. I grabbed an old blood stained cloth and pressed it against her face, holding her face in my hand. "You were picking again, weren't you?" She shook her head, but her eyes filled with tears. "Don't lie to me, Ari. We all know it doesn't help you in the long run."

"I don't want to go back today," she admitted, although it was muffled by the cloth against her mouth.

"I'm not taking you back," I said. "The docs said you don't have to go back for another two weeks unless something goes wrong."

"And this isn't wrong?" she asked. No, it was wrong. But I wasn't going to make her go back today. She'd spent the night there last night.

"You were picking, Ari. This is what happens when you pick and you're anemic." She frowned and pursed her lips underneath the cloth that I was holding. "Did you finish all your homework?" She nodded. "And you took a shower?"

"I'm not a baby, Paul," she whined. I smiled, removing the cloth and checking for bleeding. I didn't smell anything fresh and flowing.

"It's not bleeding. Get upstairs and into bed. You have school tomorrow," I said, sticking my hands under her armpits and lifting her down. She skipped off to the stairs.

I wondered how she could be so calm and happy all the time. Our lives were lower than shit. Our lives were this never ending torrent of bullshit, a literal series of unfortunate events. But through it all, Ariana Elizabeth LaHote remained a positive little twinkle of light in my life. "Paul," she said, her hand on the rail that led up the stairs. She turned back to look at me, tossing her braid over her shoulder. "Can you come and tuck me in?"

When she was having good days, I would tease her about acting so childish. She was, after all, a thirteen-year-old girl. Although every time I reminded her of that, she reminded me that a thirteen-year-old's period isn't supposed to almost kill her every month. But today wasn't a good day. Today she'd come home and heard her father screaming at her brother, only moments after returning from the hospital. No, it wasn't a good day at all.

I took her soft little hand in mine and marched in front of her up the stairs and into her room. Art used to be the thing that I loved, so it was how I made Ariana happy. I'd painted her room for her a few years ago, a light pink with metallic gold scroll work all over it. She loved it then and she still did now. Jared had helped me build her a bigger bed out of some scrap wood from a bar that had been torn down when she'd grown too big for her crib, completely with a canopy. We tried - I tried to give her everything that a normal kid should have.

I watched her bounce into her bed, tucking the blankets tightly around her once she was safely underneath the covers. "Let's do our prayers," I said, folding my hands and closing one eye to stare at her until she'd done the same. "_In my little bed I lie,_" I began. She echoed me. "_Heavenly Father hear my cry. Guide me, guard me through this night. Keep me safe until morning light. God bless,_" I trailed off then, waiting for her to finish.

"God bless Katie at the hospital; keep her safe through her surgery. And God bless Paul and Dad and everyone else in the world," she whispered.

"_Amen,_" we said together. "What happened with Katie?" I asked, smoothing her hair away from her face and handing her a pill from her nightstand. She swallowed it dry.

"She got the transplant," she said. "Well, just the new heart, but the nurses said that it would help for a while." I sighed, wishing that I was hearing this news about my sister instead of someone else's little girl.

"That's great, Ari," I said a little faker than I would've liked. "You should get some rest." I pressed my lips to her forehead.

"Hey Paul," I heard when I had made it to her door. I turned back and looked at her. "Do I really get to go to school tomorrow?"

She hadn't been in a few weeks. "Yes, Ari. If you're feeling well in the morning, you can go to school tomorrow, okay?"

"Did you - - Does Dad know that I haven't been going?"

"You have a lot of work to make up tomorrow, sissy," I said. "Get some sleep and we'll talk tomorrow after school, okay?" She nodded, a yawn forming on her lips. "Goodnight, sissy."


	8. Chapter VII

**Author's Note: So we got a look in to Paul's life (by the way, I'm glad that you guys liked that chapter). More will be revealed about him and what's wrong with Ariana as the story goes on. But here's a look into the life of Charlotte. We don't know that much about her yet. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter VII**

I walked out to my dad's car, still pissed that my cousin had been such a bitch. Who was I to judge Paul? I was an outcast, completely isolated from the small town that was La Push. I knew nothing about the people that lived here. So who cared about Paul's reputation. I didn't know it. He had given me no reason not to like him or not to trust him. So until he did, I was going to treat him like I would anyone else that I knew.

"Can I drive, Dad?"

"No."

"Please? You're in the car with me. Please, please, please!"

"Only to the gym, Charlotte." I nodded and took the keys that were dangling in his hand. I was a great driver, much better than my father would ever know. I purposely hid it from him. He was always afraid of me getting hurt, which meant that anything that wasn't dad approved was strictly off limits.

I was at the gym in Forks without any incidents. My father was so worried about me driving, constantly looking around like he was going to have to grab the wheel from me at any moment. I pulled into a parking space a ways away from everything else, knowing that if I parked besides other cars, Dad would only worry. "Bye, Dad." I pulled the car into park and turned it off, handing him the keys and bounding into the gym.

It was an indoor, olympic sized pool with the diving boards and the whole nine yards. Everything in Forks was indoors, to protect us from the rain and sleet that poured down at all times. I changed in the locker room, grateful that it was empty today. I didn't like changing when other people were around. There had been more than one occasion where I had angered someone because they had asked me to move so that they could reach their things and, being deaf, I hadn't heard them. But when it was empty, there was no one there for me to piss off.

I pulled my racerback sports bra over my head and walked towards the pool, my arms wrapped about my chest tightly. I ignored everyone except the lifeguard that waved at me and marched straight to the three meter spring board. I was too tall to continue diving, which had made my dad a little upset. After my diving career had ended, I'd resorted to swimming, which had always been my favorite part. I didn't compete, Dad wouldn't allow that. But I did swim and train like an olympic trainee.

I walked straight to the end of the board, feeling it drop under my weight a little bit. I turned, arms straight above my head, heels hanging off the edge of the board. I took a few deep breaths to cal myself. Three meters was hard for me to clear with a reverse pike. I had hit my head a few times before, not that my dad cared when I hurt myself diving. I bent my knees and pushed off, making sure that I had enough air to clear the damn board before snapping my body in half and turning so that I was perpendicular to the water, flattening my hands to help me break the surface.

The water surrounded me, filling my ears and blurring my vision. I wiggled my shoulders and kicked to the surface, feeling the muscles in my stomach tighten as I did so. God I loved swimming. Despite the look I received from one of the lifeguards, I ducked under a lane line and began my laps. I loved to be underwater. See, under here, everyone was equal. There was no one to tell you how to behave. There were no etiquette and societal rules to follow. No, there was just the person and the water.

Dad had always liked being close to Forks. He worked in Port Angeles at his law firm; in all honesty, I didn't see much of him. But he was a great parent, probably the greatest a kid could ask for. At least, a kid like me. I understood that I was never going to get anything great out of my life. I wasn't expecting anything great, I wouldn't happen for me.

I swam for close to an hour and a half, switching strokes every ten laps or so. When I was finished, I jumped out of the shower, fighting the urge to dive again. It would be too dangerous for me to do it again. Diving was a short person's sport. And at five-foot-ten, I was hardly short. I was taller than the average man, for Christ's sake. I stripped out of my swimsuit and jumped into the shower before anyone could actually see me.

I showered and sat in the lobby, headphones in my ears, waiting for Penny to make it out here. It wasn't all that far, but she had to finish field hockey before she could come pick me up. I know that it sounds strange that I was wearing headphones. But here's the thing: if you have headphones in, people assume that you're listening to music. They don't really care about your hearing status. No; they just assume that you can't hear them so they don't say anything to you. So even though I couldn't hear them either way, I still left the headphones in my ears.

Penny's lights pulled up in the front of the gym, flashing twice at me. I jumped up and pulled the useless electronics away from my body, shoving them in my swim bag and jumping into her car. "You should try out for the school's team."

"Yeah, right. Dad has a definite rule against me doing anything, remember?"

"I convinced him to let you go to high school; I think I can convince him to let you make a sports team."

"I don't want to."

"You know that Alex graduated, right?"

I nodded. "I still don't want to try out, Penny. My friend in Pennsylvania tried out for her school's basketball team, but they just did for the money. They got some government stipend and then they never played her. And she was a better player than almost everyone else on the team."

If someone else couldn't make their team play them, I sure as hell couldn't. "You're the best swimmer in the state of Washington. You'd do just fine."

"I can make my own, decisions!"

"Still sour about the LaHote kid?"

"Yes; now will you keep your eyes on the road and get me home."

We didn't talk, or sign, the rest of the way home. She dropped me off at the curb, hands flying up like she was going to say something, but I wasn't willing to look at it. SoI jumped out of the car and sprinted up to the house.

Dad wasn't home, but there was a note on the front door and an envelope with money for pizza. Dad knew that while I was a good cook, it wasn't my favorite thing to do. So whenever he was working late at the office, meaning he wasn't coming home at any point before tomorrow afternoon, he let me order in. Well, provided that I could order online. Or call one of the places that we usually ordered from. The Pizza Hut down on Blackfoot Road knew what I liked and knew our number. I think they were the only restaurant in the area that actually knew that I was deaf. They never answered, but they would usually show up a little while later with my pizza. Dad made a point always to give me cash, since I couldn't read my debit card numbers over the phone.

My large meat-lover's pizza showed up a short time later. I popped in a movie, not even putting the subtitles on. I was going to have to get better at following conversations. I was pretty good at reading lips, but I could be better at it. And however stupid I sounded, I wanted to get to know Paul better. And that meant learning how to be around hearing people. Leave it to me to let this happen all over again.

I wrapped myself in a blanket that I had made back when I was interested in quilting. It was one of the things that helped me get through the days. I guess I wouldn't have to find new hobbies every few months now that I was in school. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to go to a school dance. Probably not. At least, not like a normal person. I would get to go with Penny and whatever friends she had. But I would never get to go to a prom or anything like that. No; I would always miss out on those things.

I finished my homework quickly, still curled under my blankets and put on another movie. I finished the stupid film about high school girls and a never-ending feud between two people that used to be best friends. At least, that's what I thought it was about. I think the majority of the movie was done in a voice over or something; things kept happening but there was no actual explanation for what happened.

I guess that was an accurate explanation of my life. Everything around me was a series of scenes, but there was no explanation. At least, not one that I could understand or hear. After it finished, I took myself upstairs, changing and going to the windows to close them. A silver wolf stood on the outskirts of the forest, looking up at the window with his head cocked. I loved wolves, especially the ones that were here in La Push. I had only spotted them a few times when I was walking to Penny's at night, but they were large and beautiful.

I pressed me hand against the glass, wishing that I was brave enough to go out there and pet it. Let's be honest, it would probably be just run away. I sighed and stepped back, watching the wolf take another step closer. At least it wasn't afraid of me. I pulled my phone out of my little pocket on my shirt and texted Penny, calling off our plans for the night. No, I wasn't up to it. So I curled up in bed, alone and unable to hear if something came into my house.

Alone.

And afraid.


	9. Chapter VIII

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Okay, so here's the deal: I picked up more hours at work which means that I have less time to write during the day. Don't worry; I'll still update everyday. But I'm going to be shifting update times around this week so don't be upset if the chapter isn't up in its normal window. I'll have everything figured out in a few days. Thanks and Enjoy!**

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**Chapter VIII**

Penny was waiting in the house for me the next morning, after I finished my breakfast. Dad hadn't come home, but when I asked him about it later, he would tell me that he had come home, but he'd had to leave before I woke up. He'd probably texted Penny to ask her to pick me up, since he was never going to let me drive… ever. "Hey." I just nodded at her in return, tipping my coffee cup at me. "Mad at me?"

"What?"

"I said, are you really_ still_ mad at me?"I nodded. "Come on, I'm your cousin. You can't just be mad at me."

"You could apologizes." She rolled her eyes. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission."

"He's not a nice guy, Charlie. You don't know him like I do."

"Do you know him? Or is it just by reputation?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're right; I don't know him. I don't know his reputation. I don't know the things that he's done. So who cares about them? What if he had reasons that we can't even begin to understand? I have to wonder, Penny, do you know _Paul_? Or do you know his reputation?" She didn't move her hands to even start to frame a response so I grabbed my messenger bag and walked towards the front door. "I think I'd rather walk today. Let me know when you're ready to admit that you were wrong."

I liked walking. There were certain things that I'd read about, the sounds of birds, the wind in the trees, the song of the morning. I had always wished that I could hear them, but I couldn't. When I was little, I used to tell my dad that I could. I would stand on the front porch and close my eyes, telling myself that I could hear the wind in the trees and grass, but I couldn't. I had never been able to. Still, as I walked to the cross walk, I couldn't help but feel the rain on my face and wish I could hear the sound it would make against the tin roofs of the houses around me.

A tap on my should turned me around to come face to chest with Paul. I smiled and waved at him. He pointed to the crosswalk, showing me that the little white symbol was telling me that it was time to walk. I flushed a little, embarrassed that I had been caught daydreaming. I took a step out into the street, only to have a thick arm wrap around my waist and haul me back. I looked up to see Paul flipping off the car that drifted the corner; the car that had almost killed me. I sighed. This was one of the many reasons that Dad didn't like it when I walked around town.

Paul turned me in his arms, one of them still wrapped around my waist while his other hand came up to smooth my hair away from my face. "Are you okay?" I nodded; I really was fine. A little shaken up that I couldn't even walk to school on my own, but other than that, I was just fine. "Are you sure?" he asked, his hand trembling as he reached for me again. Now that I thought about it, all of him was shaking. I nodded again and pointed to him. "I'm fine." He took a deep breath before he tremors stopped and he released me.

I took a step away from him and pressed the button for the crosswalk again. He turned to me just as I turned to him. _"Good morning._" I smiled up, watching his eyes narrow as he thought about the sign. I clapped my hands together approvingly. Again he pointed to the crosswalk, this time taking my hand in his and walking with me across the road. Once he was sure that I was safely across, he released my hand. "_I worked a lot on this day ago._" Okay, so he had somethings to work on.

I took his hand in mine and shaped in a shape of a 'y' and tapped his thumb against his chin and then his ear. He furrowed his brow, confused. I pulled my little pad out and wrote, _ago_ and _yesterday_. I demonstrated what he had done, my hand motioning backwards over my shoulder. I pointed to ago. I then repeated the sign that I had tried to show him and pointed to yesterday. "So, _I worked a lot on this yesterday._" I smiled and nodded up at him. "_Thanks,_" he said.

_You really learned a lot, _I scribbled and handed over to him. He pulled a pen out of his back pocket.

_You challenged me, didn't you?_

_What? Can't sign that?_ His chest rose and fell with what I assumed was laughter. His hand was suddenly around my back, resting in the dip of my waist and heaving me in front of him. Some asshole came by on his bike, almost clipping Paul's arm. I looked up at Paul, watching his mouth. "Watch it!" I felt a rumbling vibration in his chest. "Are you okay?" Again? He looked angry. It was probably hitting him now. People thought that being deaf, being hard of hearing was harder than they realized. There were things that we didn't pick up on because we couldn't here them. It was a struggle for a hearing person to understand. So much of our daily lives are effected by what we heard each day. There are even studies that show what music people listen to can effect your mood that day. But when you can hear it, you don't realize what sounds do for you. Until you almost die because you can't hear anything.

Yeah, Paul was only just discovering what I was going to have in my life. I'm sure as I was standing here, he was coming to the decision that being friends with a deaf girl was more trouble than it was worth. I stepped out of his arms, pulling my dress straight from where Paul's hand had rumpled it, and turned to the school. He caught up with me quickly and fell in step beside me. _Why did you ask Penn to take you?_ he had scrawled and handed over to me.

_She was already at school,_ I penned back. He frowned a little, and I could only hope that he didn't look for her car in the school parking lot.

_Next time, text me. I'll pick you up._ I was't sure if I was angry that he thought that I couldn't even walk to school on my own, or surprised that he still wanted to hang out with me. He pulled the legal pad back and scribbled a phone number. _You do have a phone, right?_ I smiled and nodded, digging into my back pocket and pulling the little gadget out. I looked down at the paper, unlocking my phone and starting to enter his information. Paul's hand on my elbow tugged and shoved on me, moving me through the crowd while I texted him. I looked up at him with a slight smile, surprised that he didn't look at all perturbed that he'd just guided me through the halls. In fact, he was smiling, looking down at his phone while he continued to guide me in and out.

Penny was standing at her locker, her back against the metal as she stared at the two of us. "I'm sorry." I knew that I would win. Mostly because I knew that she was wrong about her judgement of Paul. Okay, maybe not about her judgement of him. But neither of us knew him and it wasn't fair to pass judgement on him.

"I know." She frowned and rolled her eyes. "I'll see you out lunch." She nodded curtly and turned to get her own things out of her locker.

Paul steered me towards my locker, through the crowds of people. "_Everything okay?_" I couldn't help but be impressed. He was a little slower than the other people that I signed with. Okay… a lot slower. Penny had been signing since she was a baby. My dad learned as soon as he realized that I had been born deaf. And most of my other friends were deaf or mute or hard of hearing. We all signed because it was the best way for us to communicate. But Paul was learning and it was kind of cute.

I nodded at him and signed back, "We're good." He seemed satisfied with the answer and waited patiently for me to get my things out of my little cupboard. We walked to his locker next; I noticed that he had a few more things with him than he'd had yesterday. Maybe he had just forgotten stuff yesterday.

Ms. Adams didn't say anything to me, at least not to my face. Paul and I took out places at the same desk that we'd been at yesterday. He turned to me, elbow resting on the desk. "_Ready?_"

"For what?"

He signed his ABC's, including the end of the song that every infant learned. It was slow and you could see his brain working to remember which way his hand should be twisting and movie. I wasn't going to lie; I was impressed. He gnawed nervously at his lip when he got the song portion, trying to remember how to say the right things. He'd made a few mistakes, but I couldn't say anything. He'd really put a lot of effort into this.

_That was really good,_ I wrote and slid it to his side of the desk.

_I felt like I little kid, I hope you know that. I had to sing that damn song in my hand at least a thousand times._

_If it makes you feel any better, you sign like a little kid._

_Well that was rude,_ he admonished with a look. I just smiled and giggled. His smile widened as I laughed.

_Don't care_, I wrote back, sticking my tongue out at him.

"She's here." Leave it to school to ruin the moment.


	10. Chapter IX

**Author's Note: I know that this is outside of the normal window, but like I said: I'm rearranging the timetable this week. I'm hoping to get it all figured out by Thursday. Enjoy the chapter!**

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**Chapter IX**

My dad was an over protective worrywart. And it was beyond irritating, especially when you were pretty sure that you were tough enough to learn to deal with things on your own. I showered and waited until I saw the hall light go of before I threw my window open and swung my legs over the ledge, repeating my intricate routine. I was thankful that I'd done core training back when I was a diver and that I hadn't given up after I'd gotten too tall. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't be able to escape every night.

Penny and I had made up a few days ago. Things were going better now that she was behaving herself. She didn't like Paul; she'd made that much abundantly clear to me _and_ Paul. But she stopped making rude comments to him, which made my life a little easier. My dad had been busier than usual lately, leaving me home alone more and more. Penny picked me up from practice every day, but she'd had no way of getting me back from La Push to Forks after school. I had resorted to the bus system, getting close enough to walk. It was about a mile or so.

Now that we were on speaking terms again, Penny and I had started our midnight adventures again. I would sneak over to her place after my dad had gone to bed and grab my bike to head to the Redtrees' track in their backyard. Word on the street was that the Douche-Bags, Tyler and Nick, were in training to make it pro. Even just thinking it made me want to snort with disbelief. I could ride circles around those boys in my sleep. They weren't making pro shit, forget about motocross. Something warm grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"What are you doing out here?" At least, that's what I think he said. He looked pissed, his mouth tight with anger. So there was a chance that he had said something completely different, but I couldn't know that. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out here?"

"If it's so dangerous, what are you doing out here?"

"If you want me to understand you, then you've got to slow down. I'm new to this, remember?" I sighed and looked up at him again.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I'm not going to get hurt." Well that was unfair. I was probably just as safe as he was out here. _"Can we please go you home?"_ I laughed and corrected him. Paul had made leaps and bounds in his sign language. He remembered the things that I taught him and came to school every morning with a handful of new signs that he had taught himself. Most of them were right; some of them he'd learned a little wrong and they were an endless source of entertainment for me. _"Can we please_**_ get_**_ you home?"_ I smiled at him with he did it correctly.

"I'm just going to Penny's."

_"It's late."_

"I know, but I always do this. Nothing is going to happen to me. Promise."

_"Slow down."_

"Sorry; everything will be fine."

_"Your dad know?"_ I didn't answer him. _"Let me take you back, Charlotte."_

"I'm fine, Paul." I shivered as the air passed through my sopping wet hair.

"I will carry you back if I have to."

"Can't sign that, huh?" He looked at me, unimpressed with my attempt at humor. "Fine. Let me text her and then I'll go home."

_"I'll walk you."_ So much for faking him out. I did as I said I would and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I sent a quick text to Penny, letting her know that I hadn't been able to get away tonight. _Everything good?_ she sent back.

_Yeah, I just couldn't get away from the house. Maybe tomorrow._ I turned my attention back to Paul. "Believe you - - stupid - - dangerous - - things you don't." He kept talking, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I put my arm on his elbow and pulled until he stopped and looked down at me.

"Are you going to continue to talk to the wind or do I actually get to know what you're trying to say?" He sighed.

_"I'm sorry; I forget sometimes."_ I nodded, although I couldn't really say that I understood. I didn't. There were never times that I forgot to sign. It was to me like talking was to him. _"I can't believe you would something this stupid. Do you even know how dangerous it be out here? Over there are things you don't know around."_ My mind was racing to trying and figure out what he was trying to tell me.

I had decoded most of his sentence, guessing that he had mixed over there and just plan there up. And I was pretty sure that he had forgotten the word _can_ when he was talking about how dangerous the forest was. But around? Were there things around me that could kill me? That didn't make any sense. "Around?" He nodded. "Fingerspell what you're trying to say please."

He looked like he felt like a complete fool. "A-B-O-U-T." I grabbed his hand and demonstrated the correct sound. "One day I'll learn this shit." I smiled.

"You are learning. And you're doing really well with it." We started walking again. It was kind of entertaining to me. Paul had yet to figure out the art of walking and signing at the same time. When we wanted to talk at school, he generally just spoke unless we were sitting right next to each other and stationary. Nothing about signing was second nature to him yet. He would get there eventually. I mean, if he stuck around that is.

I remembered, as the trees thinned out and we neared my house, that Paul didn't know where I lived. Or that I snuck out. "You can leave me here."

_"Yeah right."_ I just laughed at him. He smiled, a real smile. It was one that I rarely saw.

"My dad doesn't know that I left, Paul."

"_How did you get out?"_

"The window." He shook his head, a smile sticking on his lips.

"_I'll help you…"_ He stopped. "Up?"

I showed him the right sign, walking to the tree and sticking my feet in a few of the knot holes. I shivered, my hair feeling frozen against my skin. Paul stood underneath me, watching me make my way to the windowsill. Once I was safely through the window, I turned back and leaned my head out the window. "Thank you for making sure I got home safely."

_"You're welcome."_ I smiled at him. He pulled a little piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbled on it, tossing it through the window. _"Bye."_

"Bye, Paul." He left then and I turned around to find his note. I couldn't believe he'd had paper on him this entire time. He understood better when I was able to write it all out for him. _Do me a favor and stay out of the forests? Or text me so that I can get you there safe._ Like I was going to text him every single time that I wanted to go and ride my bike. I shook my head and changed into my pajamas. I curled myself underneath my blankets, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Well, there's no way you're going to school."

"Dad -"

"Do not start with me Charlotte. You have a fever and a cough; you are staying home."

"But -"

"Normal people stay home, Charlotte." I sighed. He was right. Normal people go sick and stayed home from school. But I had stayed home for seventeen years. "Penelope will come and check on you after school. Understood?" I nodded. "Stay inside and be good."

What was I going to do? I was going to watch movies and eat ice cream all damn day. Maybe have a few cups of hot tea. What could I do that would be _bad_? I laid back in my bed with a huff. Well, there were no tutors to force me out of bed and no school that I was going to have to go to. Might as well catch some sleep while I could.

A few hours later, I was sitting on the couch watching yet another movie without subtitles. I hated to say that it was helping, but it was. It hurt my head and made it a little harder for me to keep up with the storyline. The light that was on the wall flashed rapidly, alerting me to the doorbell. Dad hated when I answered the door. He was worried that I was going to have to deal with someone who was going to be upset with me. People were easily frustrated when I couldn't understand them. I waited until the light stopped, sinking back into the couch. And then it started up again. I shoved off the couch, coughing a little as I inhaled the cold air around me.

Paul looked down at me like I was the most important thing in the world. He pulled me into his arms as soon as the door was fully open. His chest was vibrating, the feeling fluctuating against my ear. I looked up at him to see his mouth moving. He looked down at me. "Sorry. You weren't at school. Are you okay?"

I nodded against his chest, breathing in his deep scent. This was the first time that he had ever hugged me. In the past few days, he had pulled me out of harm's way and kept me from hurting myself. But this was the first time that he had ever held me. For the first time since I had woken up, actually since I went out last night, I was warm. A large hand stroked up and down my back, sending delightful shivers running through my body. "Are you cold?" I was about to respond when he continued. "Let's get you inside."

He ushered me into the house, his arms still wrapped tightly around my shoulders. He practically tossed me on the couch, covering me in thick blankets. "Can I get you anything?" I shook my head. "Do you see what happens when you don't listen to me? Why did you go outside with wet hair?"

"People don't get sick because they went outside with wet hair, Paul." He narrowed his eyebrows and grabbed his backpack, handing me a notebook. _People don't get sick because they went outside with wet hair, Paul. They get sick because of viruses and bacterias._

"Thank you, doc." He sank down next to me and pulled me against his side. "I still think it was the wet hair." I don't know what came over me. I leaned against his shoulder, dropping my arm over his waist and yawning. I closed my eyes, warm and happy. I closed my eyes, nuzzling my cheek against his shoulder and drifting away.


	11. Chapter X

**Author's Note: I will let you know the new updating timetable with tomorrow's chapter. For future reference, it will be on my profile. Those who read all three stories will probably like to refer that. And please be aware that there will be completely separate table for weekend updates to accommodate work and homework. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter X: ****_Paul's Point of View_**

I was standing by her locker, patiently waiting for her and Penn to get here. I heard the familiar rumble of Penn's old car pulling into the parking lot, but she got out alone. Where was Charlotte? As if I wasn't angry enough at her. I had caught her yesterday sneaking out, which wasn't really a surprise. I was, however, shocked that she had gone out with sopping wet hair. Yeah, I was shocked and fucking livid. Had her mother never told her that you weren't supposed to go outside at night with wet hair? Even _my_ mom had said that once or twice.

I jogged up to Penn's side, pushing her gently to a stop. "Where is she?" I asked a little rudely. Penn and I didn't talk, but she wasn't trying to get Charlotte to hate me. So I felt like we had made progress.

"Her dad called me this morning and told me she wasn't coming to school today," she replied shortly. That was helpful.

"Did he say why, Penn?" Why was she being so difficult?

"It's none of your business, LaHote." How was it that she didn't care that her cousin was gone? I took off towards the forest, hoping to get to her house and check on her.

"If you skip again, Sam is going to kill you," Jake reminded me.

"Charlotte's not here," I said, trying to get to the trees.

"Why don't you go to your first to classes, get some of her homework, and have a legitimate reason to go over thee? Or were you going to explain that you imprinted on her and you're worried about her because she didn't show up at school?" I sighed and turned back to the school.

I impatiently sat through first and second, not taking any notes. After each class, I went up to the teachers and asked for the homework so that I could bring it to Charlotte. I stopped at her locker, popping it open to grab her things when I heard a quiet voice behind me. "You have to ring the doorbell twice."

"What?" I wheeled around on Penn but she didn't seem scared.

"If she's awake, which she might not be, you'll have to ring the doorbell twice. Her dad does't like it her to answer the door so you're going to have to ring twice if you want her to get it." Or I could break the door down. "I can't believe I'm helping you," she murmured. "Make sure you let her know that I was nice, okay?"

"Yeah, you were a fucking southern bell," I retorted. I sprinted to my car and tossed her things in the backseat, speeding to house. I had never seen the house from this side. I normally just watched her from her window, trying to make sure that she was safely out of her house. As safe as someone sneaking out though a second story window could be. I pressed the little white button on the right hand side. I could hear her heartbeat thundering in the house, but she didn't get up. I didn't even hear movement. But she was in there. I could smell her, just inside the door. Why wasn't she getting up? Was she that hurt. I pushed it again.

I heard the creaking of the couch's fame. A throaty cough sounded through the air. She was sick? It sounded like she had swallowed sandpaper. What if she was really sick? What if she had pneumonia? She pulled the door open, the hinges creaking. She looked a little pale, but otherwise fine. I don't even know if her front door was opened all the way before I had shoved my way into the house and pulled her against my chest. Thank God she was okay. I could feel the wolf in me purring as we held her close. "I thought that something was wrong," I whispered. She didn't say anything. I looked down at her, tilting her chin up. "Sorry," I murmured. How could I have been so stupid? She couldn't hear that. "You weren't at school. Are you okay?" She just nodded, her eyes wide and innocent.

She rested her cheek against my chest, her arms tightening around me just a little. I rubbed my hand up and down her back, listening to her quiet sigh. She relaxed against me as I continued to run my fingers along her spine. She shivered suddenly, her body convulsing against me for a brief moment. Fuck! I had made her stand by an open door while she was sick. "Are you cold? Let's get you inside." I released her enough to walk her into the house, kicking the door shut behind me. I pushed her against the couch, looking for something warm that I could wrap her in.

I grabbed a blanket off of the smaller couch and laid it gently over her. I found another one, this one a little thicker, and covered her in it. "Can I get you anything?" She shook her head, a little color in her cheeks again. "Do you see what happens when you don't listen to me? Why did you go outside with wet hair?" That's why she was sick.

"People don't - because they - wet - Paul." I was trying. I really was. But she signed so quickly and there were so may things that I didn't know yet. And she _never_ moved her mouth, which meant that I had to know the sigs if I wanted to understand her. I turned for my backpack and grabbed a notebook that I never really used. _People don't get sick because they went outside with wet hair, Paul. They get sick because of viruses and bacterias._ Naturally she would be genius smart too. Because my imprint had to be better than any girl that I had ever met.

"Thank you, doc," I replied. She pulled her long straight hair over her shoulder. I debated for a moment. I probably shouldn't be here. Her father wouldn't be happy to find her on the couch with some guy that he didn't know. Some guy that he had never heard of. "But no matter what you say," I began. I realized that I wasn't looking at her, so she wouldn't know what I was saying. I looked down at her, amazed that the spirits had chosen someone who was so beautiful. "I still think it was the wet hair."

She looked like she was fighting to stay awake. And she was winning for the most part. And then her head dropped to my shoulder and her arm wrapped around my waist. I stopped everything, even breathing, as I realized that this wasn't a mistake. Like a little cat, she rubbed her cheek against the point where my should met my chest, right in front of my armpit. She yawned, squeaking a little when her mouth opened all the way. I reached across my chest and rested my hand on the arm that stretched over my chest. She frowned a little, her eyes twitching like she was trying to wake herself up again.

"_Stay awake; don't rest your head. Don't lie down upon your bed. While the moon drifts in the skies, stay awake. Don't rest your eyes._" I sang the song to Ariana from the time that she was a baby, after mom had first left. I knew that Charlotte couldn't hear it, but it seemed to comfort her. Her heart slowed down at her breathing slowed. I could hear her breath rattling in her chest. "_Though the world is fast asleep; though your pillow's soft and deep, you're not sleepy as you seem. Stay awake; don't nod and dream. Stay awake, don't nod and dream._"

A light snore sounded from her now sleeping form. Her chubby cheek squished up towards her eyes, the sight utterly adorable. I ran my hand up and down the arm that was lying on my abs. Her arms prickled with bumps, her skin turning into olive colored chicken skin. I tucked her head underneath my chin, listening to her steady breath. It was nice to hear her making sounds. I had rarely heard her make any sound. Occasionally she sighed or humphed at me when I said the right thing or the something wrong. But sleeping right here, she would make little sounds like she was trying to talk to me. I turned my attention to the movie that she had put on, surprised to find _Live Free or Die Hard_.

She was so feminine, it was hard to imagine that this was what she had electively put on her television. I had never seen her in anything but a dress, unless she was at Penn's. When she was there, she usually put on jeans and a t-shirt. But, of course, he only knew that because he watched her at night, while the others were on patrol and Jared was sitting outside my house watching Ariana for me. Her change that she had every night made me wonder if she actually liked her dresses or not.

I looked away from John McClain, noticing her clothing. She was wearing a loose fitting tank top and sports bra. Her face was lying peacefully against my chest, the curve of her neck exposed and so tempting. But I had to remind myself that I couldn't do anything just yet. I was glad enough that she was sitting here with me and didn't seem to mind. I could feel her sweatpants against the bare skin of my calf.

Her phone buzzed on the couch next to her. I grabbed it and slipped it open. _Charlotte, I have a late meeting and won't be able to make it home tonight. Please call Penelope and ask her to order your dinner tonight. I hope you feel better sweetheart._ I was surprised to find the message from her father. And to find out that Penn's real name was Penelope. I mean, I figured it was a nickname, but I didn't know her by any name but Penn.

I closed her phone and put it back by her side. No dad meant no troubles for me. I rested my chin on her curls and closed my eyes. Ariana was going with her friend today. Dad was… dad. Nothing to worry about. So I could sleep right here, with my arms wrapped around the hottest girl that I had ever met.

And she was _mine_.


	12. Chapter XI

**Author's Note: I know that it's super late and I'm ****_really_**** sorry. The world kind of spun out of control on me today. Anyways, Paul's updates are going to be as follows:  
****_Monday - Friday: _****between 4:00-5:00 p.m.****_  
Saturday & Sunday: _****between 6:00-7:00  
Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter XI**

I had never felt as comfortable as I did when I opened my eyes a little while later. _Die Hard_ was no longer playing on my television. I moved my arm from my place around my body pillow, which was surprisingly warm tonight. Or at least, I tried to. All I wanted to do was get the sleep out of my eyes. Was that too much to ask? I blinked again and again until I had gotten most of the crustiness out and looked up.

I wondered, only faintly, at why Paul was here. And then it came back to me, the rain, the hug, the warmth, the gentle vibrate underneath my ear as I drifted off to sleep. His cheek was resting on my head. His entire chest was rumbling underneath my ear. I could only imagine how loud it was if I could feel it. His warm hand was wrapped around me upper arm, just above my elbow. His thumb absently stroked my skin while he continued to sleep away. I grabbed my phone and slid it open, seeing a text from my father. I was surprised to find it read, but I wasn't really upset.

A warm hand tilted my chin up. Paul smiled at me, his teeth pearly white against his tan skin. "Good morning." I smiled at him and pointed to the clock. "Fine; good afternoon." My smiled widened a little. I picked up the paper and pen from its place next to him.

_Did you read the text from my dad?_

He blushed a little under his russet skin. "I'm really sorry if I upset you, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to get interrupted by a parent who would not be happy to find his daughter here with me."

_My dad hasn't been home in a few days. If I thought that it could happen, I wouldn't have let you stay in here._

"Like you could've kicked me out." I laughed. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"I can't hear anything." His face fell while I giggled. His chest rumbled against me. He was glaring at the wall with daggers in his eyes. "Hey." I pulled on his cheeks until he was looking down at me, but not seeing me. "I know that it's not something that you get used to joking about."

"I can't understand you."

I grabbed the paper again. _I know that you're new to this all. I know that it's hard to get used to being around someone that is deaf. But if I can't joke about it, I think I would go insane. I can't be serious about forever, Paul. I'd lose my mind._ His eyes narrowed as he scanned the page.

"How do you joke about it?"

"I just do." He frowned a little. _Have you ever had something in your life that you weren't expecting to be there?_ He nodded._ That's kind of what this is like. Except, I've always been this way. _He looked over at me again.

"So how do the two connect?"

_Because I've always been deaf, but every morning I wake up and hope that I get to be hearing. I know that it's stupid. But if I have to be serious about it every single day, then I lose any hope that I have. And I know that hope is stupid, but it's the thing that keeps me going every day._

"So how do you joke about it?"

"I just do, Paul. I don't know what to tell you." He sighed and rested his chin on my head again. "You'll figure it out." If you stick around. I left the words out, hoping that I could convince him to stick around. I knew that it was wrong. I knew that I shouldn't have to convince anyone to hang out with me. But I liked being around Paul. He made me feel happy and whole. I hadn't felt this way about someone in a while. Not since -

_"Are you horny?"_ I bit my lip and tried to stifle the laugh that was bubbling in my throat. _"What? What'd I say?"_ I was still trying not to laugh. It was an easy mistake that people often made. I had heard a lot of stories from my friends that I knew online. But I had never thought that I would know someone who would make the mistake.

I repeated his last sign. "That means horny." I finger spelled the word. "This is hungry." He turned redder than he had been before. "People make that mistake all the time."

"_What's mistake mean?" _He signed the same motion that I had used. It was the trick to sign language. I could use a sign that he didn't know and when he asked me what it meant, it was a complete sentence.

I fingerspelled the meaning and he just nodded. _"Are you hungry?"_ He was still bright red and I was trying with everything in me not to laugh at him. I nodded. "Pizza?" I smiled and nodded, although it was probably the fifth time in two weeks that I'd had pizza. He pulled a phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, speaking quickly into the little device. "It'll be here soon." He flipped it shut.

I looked at the little drool spot on his shirt as we sat up. "I'm sorry; I drooled on you." I placed my hand over the little wet spot and bit my lip. God how I wished that I could look away ad hide from the embarrassment. He smiled, his chest shaking with laughter.

"I was probably snoring louder than a tractor." He shrugged.

"I can't hear it, remember?" His face darkened once again and he looked away from me. "Okay; are you going to do that every time that I remind you that I'm deaf?" He nodded. "Well then I'm not sure if we can hang out. I don't want you to be mad at me every time you have to remember that I'm deaf." It's not like it's something that people can just forget.

_"I forget, sometimes. I know that you're deaf."_

"You can't really forget, Paul. I can't speak, remember?" He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. It was a look that I had come to know as his thinking face.

_"Why?"_

I sighed. I didn't want to admit it. I should be stronger with my dad, but he had given up so much for me. "My dad." I was going slow, trying to let him get all of the signs so that I didn't have to write it down. Writing was my emergency action, it was something that I only used if I couldn't be understood. But it took something away from me. There wasn't inflection or facial features that could give you away. I needed him to get this in the right way. "He was always worried about me." I fingerspelled so that he would know the right sign. He nodded and I continued. "He worries about me being deaf. A lot of things have happened to him and to our family because of my deafness."

He nodded again. "So he sheltered me." I waited until he nodded again to continue to sign. "He kept me home from school and out of sports. I was allowed to dive and swim, but that was it." His eyebrows came together as he processed what I was trying to say. "And as stupid as it sounds, or looks, my dad wouldn't let me go to speech therapy." His eyes were drawn together as he tried to figure out the last signs. I gave in and wrote them down, hoping that he would put the pieces together.

_"Your dad wouldn't let you_ learn to speak?" I nodded, struggling to switch from watching his hands to watching his lips. I shook my head.

"He didn't want me to. I got good at reading lips, you know?" He nodded. "The lipreading helps me get by, but I can't say anything back."

"Could you learn?"

"I've tried to figure it out on my own, but I can't hear myself so I don't know if it's right. I try to ask my dad if I can go and take lessons, get help, but he doesn't want me to." I shrugged as he looked over at me. "And there's a lot that has happened because of me. So I don't want to push him."

"Are you ever going to tell me?"

"Maybe someday." He smiled, seeming content with my answer. The light flashed on the wall and I stood to get the door.

"Don't even think about it." He pushed me back to the couch and reached into his pocket to dig out his wallet. I watched with horror as he paid for the pizza with his own money. He came back with not one, but three pizzas in his hands. "I eat a lot."

"Clearly." He cocked his head to the side. The doorbell light flashed again, but whoever it was didn't wait for it to finish before it started again. Paul laid the food on the coffee table and walked back over to the door. Penn shoved her way back into the house while Paul shouted after her.

"We have a problem."


	13. Chapter XII

**Author's Note: Okay, I don't think there's really a lot that needs to be said. Only that any question you will have will be answered (eventually) but if it's something that really bugs you, just review and I'll make sure that it gets put into the next couple of chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter XII**

"What's wrong?"

"What's going on?" Paul was looking between me and Penny.

"Nothing!" Her mouth moved as well as her hands.

"Stop it, Penny. We talked about this." She glared at me. "What's going on that is so important?"

She came rushing towards me, but Paul's thick arm wrapped around my waist and spun me behind him. "Cousin, LaHote." His chest trembled under the hand that I had laid on his shoulder. "Don't need to care."

I pushed away from both of them and stood between them. "Hi, I'm still here." Paul grabbed my waist and pulled me back. "Stop." I shoved his hand away. "Both of you need to quit acting like I'm not here. Penny, what is going on?"

She stepped forward and handed me her phone. _Hey Penelope, it's Maria. Do you have Charlotte's phone number?_ "When did you get this?"

"When I was at school."

Paul spun me around to look at him. _"What's going on?"_

"It's nothing." I dismissed him. I didn't want him to know what had happened with my mother. No one needed to know about her. "You might want to go."

"Do you want me to leave?"

I wanted to nod, but instead I shook my head. He smiled at me a little and then finally realized that Penny was still standing in front of us. "Then you're going to have to tell me what's going on."

"I don't have to tell you anything." He glared down at me a brief moment before he looked up at Penn and jerked his head to the side. I'm sure my cousin put up some kind of fight, but she must've left because Paul finally looked down at me.

"Will you please tell me?" The look on his face was enough to get me to do anything. So I sighed and nodded. "What's going on, Charlotte?"

I didn't want to tell him, but I had told him that I would. Well, I didn't have to tell him everything. There; that was the solution. I'd give him the watered down version that would make him move on. There was no need for him to know all of it. Besides, I had just met him. "My mother left when I was a little kid. She comes back every few years," Lie number one, "and checks in so that she can act like a real parent." Paul just nodded along with me.

"So why is it a problem that she's here?"

"My dad probably doesn't know. And if she gets here before he does, she'll throw a fit and do something bad."

"Are you using easier sign so I'll understand or do you not want to tell me?" How was he able to see right through me?

"I don't want to tell you about it." He nodded, although he looked a little upset.

"Will you tell me?"

"I promised you that I would, remember?"

"So this has to do with your dad?"

"It has to do with everything. My mom isn't the greatest person known to man, Paul." He cocked his head to the side, so I wrote the sentence out for him.

"Are you scared of her?" I shook my head, but Penny had walked back in.

"She's not afraid of her." She spoke and signed so that both of us understood.

"Don't, Penny."

"He wants to stick around, then he should know."

"Know what?"

"Penny, don't do this to me."

"She's not afraid of her mom, Paul. She's afraid of the things that her dad will say to her when she leaves." Damn her.

_"What is she talking about, Charlotte?"_

"Thanks a lot, Penelope."

_"Charlotte, please tell me."_

"Not today. He's not even coming home today. Penny, just leave. You've fucked up enough shit today."

She look upset that I had signed so furiously at her. But whatever Paul and I were, it was my decision to tell him what I wanted to. "Get out, Penny. We'll talk about it later." She huffed, her cheeks flapping a little with her air. She whipped her hair over her shoulder and walked out of the house.

Paul turned me around and looked at me through slitted eyes. "What is your dad going to say to you?" I turned my head to look away from me, but he caught my chin in his hands and pulled me back to him. "What is he going to do?"

"It's nothing Paul; it just is what he is."

"Does he hurt you, Charlotte?"

"No; he wouldn't do that."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"Because, okay? He doesn't hurt me but he isn't always nice after my mom has left. He doesn't mean it rudely; I just take it the wrong way."

"What does he say to you, Charlotte?" You could see the anger pulled tight across his face. That and the fact that it was causing his arms to shake gave him away.

"It's nothing to worry about, Paul."

He stepped closer so that he was bent at the waist to look at me. "Listen to me, Charlotte. I will always worry about you. Always." I nodded. "And if you ever need me, just send me a text and I'll be right here." I nodded.

Something pulled me away from Paul's arms, but Paul quickly pulled me back ad pulled me behind him. "What do you think you're doing with my daughter?"

_"Is this your mom?"_

"I haven't seen her since I was twelve." I knew that my eyes were wide and that my face was probably beyond description. I hadn't thought that my mother would actually come to the house. At least, not right away. She would normally wait for my father to give her some kind of go ahead. I had to at least hope that he wouldn't give her the go ahead. Not after the last time that she was here. "But it's her."

_"Do you want me to leave here?"_ On a normal day at a normal time, I would correct him for his mistake.

"You mixed up some signs, but please stay." He nodded.

"Don't do the whole signing thing. Have a conversation with me, Charlotte." I looked at my mother with nothing but fear. I didn't want her here. She only came around when she thought that there was something she could get out of me.

"What are you doing here?" Paul attempted to translate for me. As long as I kept my sign simple he would do just fine. In all honesty, he was doing so well with his sign language that I could probably say whatever I wanted. "Why are you here?" She didn't answer me after a few moments.

"Who is this?" She jabbed a perfectly manicured finger towards Paul. "Your boyfriend? Your father said that it didn't go so well for you last time. But what can I expect. Maybe if you stuck to the deaf world, you would find someone who would actually love you. But normal people won't care for you; you're too much trouble." That was why she'd left, after all.

"This is Paul." Paul stepped forward and extended a quivering hand towards my mother, but she just stared at it.

"Where's my husband?"

"Away at work." Away on business… close enough. I was actually kind of impressed with Paul's interpretations. It had only been a week with me.

"I'll just wait for him here, then." My mother pushed her way passed me and into the living room. I inhaled sharply, but the air quickly left my lungs in a cough. Paul rubbed against my back.

"I don't think that's a good idea." I thought he was talking to me until he looked up at my mother. "She - want - you - sick." I didn't want her sick? I didn't care about that. As terrible as it sounded, she could have died and I wouldn't have known. And there was a little part of me that was pretty sure that I wouldn't have cared either. "Do you want me to get Penn?" I nodded.

Paul turned to the front door, leaving me standing there, but I quickly latched onto his arm. Who knew what my mother would say if he wasn't here? She'd already been pretty hurtful. "Please don't leave." I would've dropped to my knees and begged if he would just stay here with me. His hand latched onto mine.

"I'm just going to call her where your mom can't hear me. You can come with me, okay?" I nodded and kept my hand tight around his. I watched his mouth move, but I wasn't really trying to catch what he was saying. No, I was replaying the memory of the last time that my mother and father were in the same room, the only time that they had ever agreed on anything. He looked down at me with a slight smile. "Penn is on her way, okay?" I nodded. "I won't let them hurt you, okay?" I nodded again, but I wasn't sure what I thought about his words. I'd had plenty of people say the words, but they could never keep the promise. Why should Paul be any different?

Paul's head snapped up and looked at the door. I turned and followed his gaze. "Charlotte, whose cars are parked outside?" His hands were moving, but he had yet to look up. And I was dreading the moment that he would. "Who is this? Who are you?" Paul opened his mouth, but Dad said something before Paul got a chance to introduce himself. "Maria?"

For the love of all that is holy, could I please just die?


	14. Chapter XIII

**Author's Note: Let the drama begin. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter XIII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

"I'll just wait for him here, then." The woman, who looked very little like the beauty that I held in my arms, brushed by us. Charlotte took a deep breath like she was going to cry out in exasperation but instead started coffee. I beat her back lightly and then began rubbing gentle circles. She was sick; this woman shouldn't be here.

I kept my eyes on her as I spoke, "I don't think that's a good idea." Charlotte frowned, thinking that I was talking to her. I looked up at the woman; I still hadn't heard her name. "She doesn't want you here and she's sick." Charlotte's frown only deepened. I thought she said that she didn't really like her mother? I raised her chin a little. "Do you want me to get Penn?"

"Yes, get Penelope. She will be able to tell you to get out of my house," the woman shouted. I focused on Charlotte's nodding.

I turned to walk out the front door where her mother wouldn't hear me talking to Penn. That and I was livid about the things that had been said. I shouldn't have been surprised that Charlotte had dated before, although I wanted to know more about it. But the things that her mother had said about her deafness… What the fuck was her problem? It's not like Charlotte had a choice in all of this. It took everything in me not to phase and run. Or rip off the hand of the woman who had insulted my imprint. Two tiny hands wrapped around bicep and tugged. I looked back to find Charlotte clinging to me with all the strength in her gorgeous little body. _"Please don't leave."_ There was so much fear in her eyes that I was afraid of leaving her, even for a moment.

"I'm just going to call her where your mom can't hear me." She still looked afraid. "You can come with me, okay?" She nodded and slid her hand down my arm, fire blazing in my veins. God this girl was amazing… and she wasn't even doing anything. I led her to the entry, far enough that I was fairly certain her mother wouldn't here, not outside where Charlotte could get any sicker. "Penn, it's Paul."

_"What do you want LaHote? I was nice enough to help you earlier, don't expect much more out of me in one day."_

"Her mom showed up here, Penn. And she's not saying anything."

_"She never says anything."_

"Not what I meant. She wants you here."

Penn sighed on the other side of the line. _"I'll be there in half an hour."_

"Thanks Penn."

_"Just don't leave her there by herself, LaHote."_ She hung up on me before I had the chance to tell her that I wouldn't dream of leaving her. Especially not when she was like this. But she didn't want me to leave. I knew that she didn't. She was holding on tight to me, like she was afraid that I would disappear and she would be left alone with her mother. I wasn't sure why she didn't like her mother, but I could see that the feeling went both ways. And whatever it was that made Charlotte dislike her mother so much made me _hate_ her. I smiled down at her.

"Penn is on her way. Okay?" She just nodded, but she didn't look at all comforted. "I won't let them hurt you, okay?" I kept asking like she was going to fight me on what I had to say. But it wouldn't matter what she said. I wasn't going anywhere. My ears perked up at the sound of keys jingling and a distinctly male scent. The boyfriend that I'd hear about?

_"Charlotte, who parked car out?"_ At least, that's what I saw. God I had to get better at this shit. _"Who is this?_ Who are you?" I opened my mouth to tell him my name and shake his hand when too much perfume swirled around my nose. "Maria?" So that's her name. Got it. "What are you doing here, Maria?"

"This is my home, Henry. I have every right to be here."

"When you act like a real parent, you can have the right to be here," her father countered. Charlotte cringed into my arms, hiding her face in my shirt. "And who in God's green earth are you?"

I cleared my throat and kept one arm wrapped around Charlotte. I stood up straight, knowing that I should't be holding on to the girl while I introduced myself not her father, but afraid of what would happen if I let her go. "Paul LaHote, sir," I said. He took my hand hesitantly, glaring down at Charlotte. "I'm a friend of Charlotte's from school."

"And, uh, what exactly are you doing in my house, Mr. LaHote?" He acted so prim and proper; I wondered how the dark haired girl in my arms put up with him.

"I noticed that Charlotte wasn't at school today, so I came by to drop of her homework for her." There was no need to mention that I'd shown up somewhere around eleven and I still hadn't left. "Penn was on her way over with the rest of the work. I don't have all the same classes, sir."

"And that is why there's pizza in my house?"

"I figured Charlotte would be hungry and Penn was coming over, sir." Damn, I was putting a lot of effort into this. But I needed to see her and this was the man that could control that. So impressing him was kind of important.

His hands flew up, but I only caught a few of the signs. "Oh stop babying her, Henry. She has to learn how to get along without the sign language!" Maria shouted behind us, throwing her hands up in exasperation. I looked down at Charlotte, but she didn't seem to have noticed. It dawned on me that Maria was probably out of her line of sight and she couldn't know what her mother was saying to her.

"No matter what we wanted, Maria, Charlotte is deaf. And it's unfortunate and hard for everyone. Maybe you could take an interest in your daughter and learn how to sign," Henry spat. Her mother didn't know how to sign? How was that possible? I mean, I understood that Maria had left when Charlotte was younger, but to just not know how to sign at all…? You would be missing out on something great with Charlotte. Because she was so much more than just some deaf kid.

"Not everyone in the world knows how to sign, Henry. You can't just expect her to have someone there for her everywhere she goes." Why not? She could have Penn or her dad or me, when I learned. I would do anything to keep her happy, to keep her safe.

"But you're her parents, Maria. You're supposed to know sign language. You're supposed to communicate with your own child."

"She doesn't want to communicate _with me_!" her mother shouted at him. I knew she couldn't hear anything, but something sent her shivering into my arms. I stroked up and down her back, trying to comfort her. God, was this what it was like for her every time her parents were in the same room.

"Okay, LaHote I'm here," Penn said. I looked at her. "With Charlie's homework. You really should've picked it all up." I was starting to see why Charlotte loved her cousin so much. The woman was a genius in nonverbal communication. _"You feeling good?"_ Charlotte nodded from her little spot against my ribs. Her parents snapped back to attention like they'd suddenly remembered their daughter was in the room.

"She's tried this before, Henry and it didn't work out last time."

"She was only thirteen last time," Penn cut in. "And the guy was a jackass. LaHote has been great with her. He's even learning to sign." I fought the urge to smile at Penn's praise. I was getting to her. "Unlike some people we know."

Penn was such a badass. She didn't a flying fuck about what other people thought about her and her family was no exception. Although the deadly look on her face said that she didn't really think of Maria Rivers as her family. "Penelope Rivers!"

"Is not my name," she finished smoothly. "My name is Penn. And quit acting like it hurts. You don't know about hurt. Now get out."

"This isn't your home, Penelope."

"And this isn't your family, Maria. Your daughter is clinging to a guy that she barely knows because she doesn't want you here. Doesn't that tell you how unwelcome you are? Now get out of here. None of us want you here."

Maria looked pissed, Charlotte looked relieved, and Penn just looked like you couldn't move her from her spot. Charlotte's should-be mother scoffed in that disgustingly feminine way and turned to get her shit from the couch. "We will talk about this, Henry. She's seventeen. We can have her do this if this is what's best for her." Charlotte hid herself deeper in my chest, anger radiating off of her. She took a step forward, but I tightened my hold on her and shook my head. She sighed and pursed her lips, but settled back into my side.

Maria stormed out of the house then and her father looked at me. "Now, who are you?" I hate parents.


	15. Chapter XIV

**Author's Note: Okay here we go. One kind of minor thing. I know that it may seem like Charlotte is just good at ****_everything_****. But you have to remember that she has spent most of her life cooped up in her house and finding things to entire herself with. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XIV:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I carefully positioned myself next to Charlotte, hoping that I was far enough from her that her father would be okay. But she looked so sad, I just wanted to keep her in my lap and hold her tight. "So, who exactly are you?"

_"Dad!"_

"It's fine," I assured her. He had every right to ask me who I was. After all, I was in his house with his daughter who was supposed to be home sick. If it was Ariana at home with some guy I had never met, I might be freaking out too. "I'm a friend of Charlotte's from school. We have a few classes together." All of them.

"And why are you in my house?"

_"Dad! He's a guest!"_

"It's fine, Charlotte. I noticed that Charlotte was absent and came to bring her homework over. We have a project due in the next couple of days. I thought that since we were now partners we could work on it tonight." Her father nodded along like he was following everything that I was saying. "As I said before, Penn was on her way over when you walked in the door, sir."

I don't know what he saw in me that made him believe that I wasn't going to hurt his daughter, but he must've decided. He rose and headed towards the kitchen. _"Charlotte, I'm not stay night. I have work but forgot thing here."_ Why couldn't I just be better at this shit? Maybe then I could follow an actual conversation. _"We'll talk about this when I get home this weekend."_ He rose and kissed the top of her head before walking to the kitchen. "It was nice to meet you, Paul. Penn, he's out of here by ten."

Penn nodded and took her place of the love seat away from me and Charlotte. I could hear Henry searching around upstairs for something or another. I didn't move any closer to his daughter, imagining what it would feel like if Charlotte was Ariana. That was probably how I should've thought about every girl that I had ever dated… or not dated. And it was sure as shit how I was going to think about Charlotte. I would treat her like I wanted someone to treat my baby sister. "I'm serious," Henry said, pointing a finger at Penn. The girl in question just nodded and reached over to the coffee table to grab a piece of pizza. "Nice to meet you," he said as he walked out the door.

"Is he always like that?"

"Always," Penn nodded. She waited until she couldn't hear his car anymore, at least I assumed she couldn't because I still could, and stood up. "I'm talking one of these back to my place," she said, grabbing a box of the pizza that I had paid for. If it were any other day, I would be pissed that some bitch was taking my food. But Penn had stood up for me today, in her own way. And I couldn't be mad at her. "You leave the house by ten or I chop your balls off."

_"Penny! Why is all mean to him?"_ Everyone? She must've said everyone.

"We're just looking out for you, Charlie. _Especially after -_" I couldn't figure out what she was saying, but it must've been about the nameless asshole that Charlotte had dated. Her eyes flashed fire and she jumped out of her seat, signing furiously. "Bye LaHote," she said, turning and ignoring Charlotte entirely. She turned around, still angry, her cheeks flushed with her agitation.

_"You okay?"_

_"Fine; what's the work we have?"_ I smiled because I knew she was consciously thinking of other signs that she could use that I could understand. In my mind, that meant that she wanted me around enough to try and figure out how to communicate with me.

I had never thought of all the troubles that she would have as a deaf person. I mean, there was the obvious: the couldn't hear jack shit. But it had become more and more clear when she'd been walking into the street the other morning. She couldn't hear the asshole honking for her to get out of the way. If she wasn't looking at me, then you couldn't understand what I was trying to tell her. Her own mother hand been out of her line of vision and she couldn't keep up with that conversation. If she was trying to talk to someone like me, who was still learning, she had to figure out signs that I could understand. She faced so many obstacles everyday and she seemed completely normal about it. _"We don't actually have a, _uh, _p-r-o-j-e-c-t. I just didn't want you dad to know that I was a little crazy today."_

_"You were crazy?" _I nodded. _"How?"_

"I didn't know where you were and I kind of freaked out. That's why Penn came over with the rest of your homework. I just wanted to get here and check on you," I admitted. "I needed to make sure you were okay."

She flushed a little, the color of her anger draining to become a pink color of embarrassment. I could only hope it was because she was glad that I cared. She raised her hands and began in a flurry. _"I'm sorry that I sleep. I didn't mean to. You were warm and -"_ Her hands began moving even fast in signs that I didn't really understand. I really was trying to understand, but it was no use. Ultimately, I grabbed her hands and and held them still.

"You're apologizing for falling asleep, right?" She nodded. _"Don't._ You're tired and sick. It was wrong of me to come all the way out here when you were trying to get your rest."

_"It's fine, Paul."_ At least I knew that sign. I mean, she'd said it at least six times in the course of the day. _"I'm hungry."_ I almost laughed when I thought about the sign that I had messed up. Why would some idiot make hungry and horny such similar signs? The two kind of went hand in hand for some guys, I guess. The same kind of a guy that I had a reputation for being. I was going to have to fix that. Not sure how, but it was going to have to happen. _"What's funny?"_

"I was just thinking about when I signed the wrong thing," I replied. I was going to have to double my efforts or something because not being able to understand her or sign back was getting irritating. She smiled and giggled, the sound decidedly feminine. She stood and walked off to the kitchen, her hips swinging unconsciously. Se wasn't making this an easier for me.

It wasn't hard to tell that Charlotte was the kind of person who didn't realize just how beautiful she was. And it wasn't in a way that made it seem like she was searching for compliments, like most of the girls at our school. She was different than most of the girls that I actually knew. Ryanne knew she was a good looking kid and didn't care what people had to say about it. Emily hung back and hid herself from the rest of the world because of her scars. Kim didn't realize that she was a cute kid. While I didn't think she was beautiful, she was still a cute looking girl. Kim was different from Charlotte though. Charlotte carried on about her day like it didn't matter. Kim hid herself behind her glasses and oversized sweatshirts. Charlotte just didn't seem to realize that she was breathtakingly gorgeous.

She walked back with plates and a pad in hand. I was trying not to stare at the narrowness of her waist, the roundness of her boobs, or the gentle sway of her hips as she walked back to me. But she didn't make it any easier. Without trying, she was making it more difficult than she could possibly understand. I couldn't remember a single time that I'd felt this way about a girl. She was driving me insane without knowing it. _"I want to show you something." _My ears twitched a little as I took the plates from her and loaded us both up on pizza.

She exchanged the plate in my hand for the notebook. I waited to hear what she wanted me to do, not wanting to invade her privacy. _"Look at it."_ I flipped it open to find a black and white sketch of First Beach, the waves playing on the rocks. I noticed her grab a hold of my notebook out of the corner of my eye, but I was too busy flipping through her artwork. The last page was a little rough, but still amazing. And it was me.

Well, not _me_. She didn't know that I was the wolf that was sitting underneath her tree every night. "These are amazing." She beamed up at me and handed me a piece of paper with her tidy little script on it.

_No one ever really looks at my art, but I thought it might be something you would enjoy. No one cares if you're hearing or deaf if you can draw, you know?_ I nodded, thinking about what she was saying. I wonder if that was how she felt about the world. I guess it was true. Her world was hearing or deaf. But I wanted more than that for us. Because my world wasn't what it used to be. As fucking retarded as it sounded, she was the center of my world. And I didn't care if she was hearing or deaf.

She was munching away on pizza, the two slices I'd given her almost gone when I tapped her shoulder. She laid her now empty plate on the coffee table and looked at me with tired, quizzical eyes. "Where'd you see this one?" I held up the picture of the wolf that she'd drawn. She turned beat red and bit her lip.

_"I forget it was in there." _I just smiled and waited. She yawned a little. _"I dream of that wolf most nights. I don't know why." _She leaned back against the couch and I smiled. She dreamed about me and she didn't even realize it. Thank God for the imprint. I'd never in all my life thought that I'd be glad to see the imprint involved in something, but I was. I flipped her book closed and laid it on the desk, looking over at her sleeping form. I had patrol at eleven and had to be out of her house by ten. That gave me a few uninterrupted hours with her.

Even in her sleep, the imprint bond was working. She leaned over in her sleep, snoring a little and falling against my shoulder. I shifted until she was lying like she'd been when I first got there. I could feel myself turning into a girl as I stared at her. Because it was only a girl that would dream about turning eighteen, getting her away from here, and living in a house with her and his baby sister to keep them both safe forever. But it was a nice fucking dream.


	16. Chapter XV

**Author's Note: Kind of excited for this chapter. Let me know what you think please!**

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**Chapter XV**

I didn't go to school Thursday or Friday. Paul came over both days and gave me my homework, taking what I had already finished back. I had been shy about showing him more of my drawings, but it couldn't get much worse than it already was. He'd seen the picture of the wolf that I'd drawn, the one that I'd been dreaming about for a few months now. His praise had been great and I really appreciated it. I don't know, there was just something so private about showing that to him. The wolf was my own little secret. It was something that I didn't tell people about. I didn't remember most of my dreams… ever. But this wolf was the thing that I remembered every night.

My dad hadn't come home the entire weekend. My mom was still in town. Every day she came by the house and every day Penn told her to leave. I didn't want to see her, not after what had happened all those years ago. And I wasn't going to think about it, either. Monday had finally come and I was finally feeling well enough to get back to school. Paul was waiting for me at my locker. I left Penn in her car and darted as inconspicuously as possible to the metal cabinet.

_"Someone's excited for school."_ His face was so concentrated as he tried to piece his sentence together. I wondered how much time he spent working on the sign language. His progress was staggering. Everyday, he seemed to come with new words prepared. And he never hesitated to try words or to ask how to say something. I think my favorite look on his face was the one that he made whenever he was trying to remember how to say something. And I was really touched that he card enough to try so hard at learning how to sign. Even my own couldn't be bothered to do it.

By the time the end of the day had finally came around, I was wishing that I hadn't gone to school. Paul said that made me just like any other high school student. I smiled, happy that I could claim to be normal for once in my life. The two of us were getting up to leave the class, me walking in front of him. Something warm that I had come to associate with Paul closed around my elbow and twirled me back to his side. _"Do you have anything planned right now?"_ His ability to but things in the past tense was new. I shook my head and smiled at him. _"There' s someone I want you to meet. You good with that?"_

I was still smiling like an idiot. His sign was getting to the point where he could put his own inflection into things. It sounded like him. You could see him struggling to say some things, but the signs that he used regularly were starting to come naturally. I quickly shot Penny a text that I wasn't going to the pool today and that I'd be home later. She would understand. My mom would be at the swimming hall waiting for me. Because of her, and the fact that I was sick, I hadn't been to the gym in a few days. But that was what my mother did. She came in and found ways to ruin my life little by little.

Paul held my door open like a gentleman. "Where are we going?"

_"You'll see."_ He swiftly returned his hands to the wheel and smiled over at me.

We pulled off the road into the parking lot of La Push Middle School. "What are we doing here?" He just smiled at me. A little girl pushed herself up off a bench and sprinted towards the car. I frowned. She was too old to be his daughter, but she looked just like him. Everything about her, from the breadth of her shoulders to the sparkle in her chocolate brown eyes.

_"We are getting my sister."_ His sister? I didn't know that he had a sister. He grabbed my hand in his and pulled me out his side of the car. _"I thought it was time for you to meet her." _I wondered if he'd ever introduced someone to his sister. I hoped that he hadn't. Because thinking that he hadn't, it made me feel special. The girl stopped when she saw me get out of the car. Her eyes were a little worried, but her eyes were still shining brightly with a happiness that I don't think anyone could extinguish.

"Who's this, Paul?" I returned the bright smile that she shot me and looked up at Paul to see what he would say in response.

"This is Charlotte. She's someone important." I smiled at the words. He turned to look at me. _"Charlotte, this is my sister Ariana."_ I nodded and waved at her. "Ari, Charlotte is a good friend of mine from school. She's deaf."

_"It's nice to meet you."_ I was pretty sure that my mouth fell open in the most unladylike fashion.

"You can sign?" She nodded, her head bobbing again and again. I turned on Paul. "Is this how you've been learning your sign?"

_"I didn't know she could sign!_ Where did you learn that Ariana?" His mouth was hanging open in disbelief as he looked at his sister. I was now wondering the same thing.

"I told you about Lacy, Paul. Don't you listen to a word I say?" I laughed at her. She was certainly Paul's little sister; same attitude and everything. I could see Paul smiling next to me. _"How do you hang out with him? He's insane."_

"Where did you learn to sign?"

_"One of the girls that I met at the hospital. She has,_ um, _cancer."_ She fingerspelled. Why was Paul's sister in the hospital? _"Two different types." _Paul looked like he was trying to figure out what she was saying, but he could only catch a few signs. Ariana was signing swiftly, like she did this on a regular basis. _"I'm Ariana."_ I was kind of surprised when she fingerspelled her name and then quickly showed me her name sign. She pressed an 'A' to her cheek in the sign sweet. _"How do you know Paul?"_

"Paul," I fingerspelled his name, "doesn't have a name sign just yet. But we go to school together."

"You didn't tell me that you were hanging out with someone who's deaf!" She looked so indignant and hurt. "I would've liked to work on my sign language."

"I didn't know that you could sign!" I was laughing at the two of them, at how much like siblings they looked. I wondered if this is what people thought about when they looked at me and Penny signing at each other. If they could understood how rude we are to each other. I guess that's part of being related. _"Come on girls."_ He ushered us towards the car. _"Let's go get some food."_

In the rearview mirror, I could see Ariana chattering away but I couldn't make out what she was saying. Paul just nodded along with her, occasionally making some comment that I couldn't quite make out. We pulled up at the diner, the only eatery on the Reservation. Ariana waited patiently until I was out of the car to kick the seat out of her way and hop down. I was so confused but didn't want to press where I wasn't wanted. She seemed like such a happy bubbly kid. I couldn't imagine what was wrong with her. Paul wrapped his hand around mine and his other around Ariana's, and marched on.

I wanted to know what we looked like, walking down the street hand in hand. I could only think of what I would assume if I saw a trio like us. It would probably hurt to look at them, to think about what a happy family they looked like. They would be what I had always wanted to be. Paul's hand slipped to the small of my back as he gently pushed me towards the diner door. He didn't move his hand, even after we'd made it inside. He slid into the same side of the booth as me, releasing Ariana to sit on her own side. She just stared at me, confused as to why I was here probably.

A waitress came up and handed us menus, her mouth moving quickly. Paul spoke up then, I wasn't really sure what was going on. Ariana smiled at me. _"Drink?" _Thank God she was here.

I pulled a pen out of my backpack that I used as a purse and grabbed a napkin. _Diet Coke,_ I scribbled and slid to him. Paul's hand captured mine before I could move it back. He handed me a menu, but kept hold of my hand. He didn't look at all frustrated with me, which kind of surprised me. My dad never took me out to eat because I couldn't order. I always told him that he could order for me, but he refused. The truth was that my father was ashamed of me and it was easier for him to order in.

I do love my dad, though. He likes to work and he's not really around all that much, but he's done the best that he could with me. I knew that it could be worse. My dad was so upset that my mom had left. He threw himself into work. When I was a kid, he was around more often. But the older that I got, the more activities and training he required of me, and the less he was around. Paul's hand tightening around mine pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the diner. _"I think I lost you for a moment there."_ I smiled and bit my lip. _"What do you want to eat?"_

I looked over the menu before deciding on their ultimate bacon cheeseburger. Ariana and I both looked disgusted when Paul's food finally arrived. He'd ordered two burgers, with fries of course, and two slices of lasagna. Not to mention the salad that came with his burgers. Ariana ate her chicken caesar salad in silence, but she never took her eyes off of me. Paul rose to go pay the bill, pushing the money that I tried to hand back at me. His little sister just stared after him, her eyes still bright and happy but still cautious. "Did I do something wrong?"

I could tell that Paul loved his sister. If I wanted to hang around Paul, which I did, it was clear that I needed to get on her good side. _"I'm just thinking."_ Did she have to do it with such a scary look on her face? She was _definitely_ Paul's sister.

"About?"

_"Paul's never introduced me to any of his friends from school; at least, not friends that were girls." _I nodded. _"I'm thinking that I might need to take him to the hospital and make sure he doesn't have a brain bleed or something."_

I laughed at that, realizing that it wasn't me that she was wondering about, but her brother. "Why doesn't he let you meet his friends?"

_"I'm sick."_ She looked down at her lap, but continued signing. _"Paul treats me like a baby because of it. I've asked him why I don't get to meet other people, though."_

"And?"

She looked up at me. "He said that none of them were good enough for me to meet, not important enough." I didn't want to smile and act like I was some giddy teenager, but her words were enough to have me fighting a giggling fit. "You must be pretty special if he wants you and me to hang out, Charlotte."

"Charlie." She cocked her head. "My friends call me Charlie." She beamed at me when she saw the sign friends.

_"My friends call me Ari."_ I beamed back at her. _"I like you, Charlie. I'll have to make sure Paul isn't a complete ass. It'll be nice to have you around."_

Paul returned then and took us in his hands again, walking with us back to the car. He dropped me off at the house before taking Ari home. I was a little put out that he didn't want me to see his house, but all of that was erased when he leaned down at pressed his lips to my cheek. _"I had fun. I'll text you later." _

What was the boy doing to me?


	17. Chapter XVI

**Author's Note: Time skip! Hope that you guys enjoy it!**

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**Chapter XVI:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

The days were getting longer, much longer than twenty-four hours had ever felt. That redhead was back. I was staying outside of Charlotte's window every night, worried that being the crazy girl would try to sneak out to do whatever it was that she like so much. She was still doing that, but it was less and less frequent. We had been hanging out together for a few weeks now. She and Ari were pretty tight. Introducing her to Ari had gone better than I could've imagined. My baby sister knew how to sign… I couldn't believe it. But Ari knew a lot of people from her treatments, most of them were sicker than her.

Walking into the diner with both of my girls in hand; I had never been happier. I could imagine us as a family. Not to mention the kids that I was dreaming about having with Charlotte. I was sitting in the forest dozing when a startled little scream sounded through the air. Charlotte's smell was smell, mingled with fear, was circling the air. "Charlotte?" I called as soon as I phased out. Because she could hear. I've got to be the stupidest fuck.

I sprinted towards her house and looked up at her window. She wasn't there, at least, not within sight. I scrambled up her tree and peered in. Her tiny bed ran parallel to the window, allowing me to see her perfectly. She was shaking, but her eyes were still shut. Her breath was labored, like she couldn't quite breathe. And then she popped upright in her bed, laying her head between her knees while she panted for breath. I could feel a throbbing pain in my head, but I knew that it wasn't me. I reached into my pocket and dug out my phone. _Look outside._

I watched her lips twitch a little as she saw the text and then her head snapped to the window. She smiled and grabbed a lightweight little blanket. She wrapped it around her shoulders and scampered to her window. Her eyes were bright and sparkling as she pushed it open. _"What are you doing here?" _She was smiling so brightly at me anyways.

_"I came to say hi. Move."_

_"What are you trying to say? I think your mixing things up." _She blushed like she felt bad for trying to correct me.

_"No, move,"_ I signed again. She frowned at me and stepped aside. I was tall enough that I could easily make it through the window, although watching Charlotte wiggling her little body through the window was far more entertaining. When I wasn't worrying about her falling, of course.

Her room was just like her. It was neat and tidy and feminine and full of random shit that I didn't think that anyone knew. The wall that was on the right was a book shelf with a tiny wooden step ladder that would allow her to reach the books on the uppermost shelves. The bookcase took up almost the entire wall. But sitting in the little space beside it was what looked like the most comfortable chair the world. It was large, like a bowl, sitting on sound little wooden structure.

There was a little crocheted blanket, at least I think it was crocheted. It sat on the edge of the round chair, next to a pillow with some flowers embroidered on it. Everything was a dark cherry-looking wood that was thrown off by the whites and pastel colors of the rest of her room. _"Are you finished staring at my room? I know it's a mess but -"_

_"You think this is a mess?"_ Sure there was some laundry on the ground, but other than that it was spotless. _"You okay?"_ I was looking for a reason to ask her, but she didn't seem to need one. She sank back down on her bed and let her little shawl thing drop from her shoulders, shaking her head the entire time. _"What's wrong?"_ I remembered the first time that she'd taught me the sign, back when I didn't know anything about her. I smiled.

_"It was just a bad dream." _There was something more that she wasn't tell me. I pulled her chair away from her desk, knowing that I was covered in sweat and forest dirt from phasing. She didn't want that on her bed.

The damn thing was so tiny, smaller than the one thatI used at home. Although now that I thought about it, I hadn't slept in the house in forever. One of the guys, usually Jared, would run by and make sure that Ari was okay. And I checked on her before I left. That shit was the hardest pat about having an imprint. The wolf, and the man if I were to tell the truth, wanted to check on Charlotte. Especially knowing that her mother was still around and that her father wasn't at the house at night. But the big brother that had spent so much time taking care of Ariana didn't want to leave her at the house alone.

So like the stupid fucker I was, I ran around Charlotte's house and napped a little, then sprinted back to my place and dozed. And so the pattern was formed. I was getting less and less sleep, but my girls were safe. _"What was it about?"_ There was definitely something about her dream that she wasn't telling me. She licked her lips and then shoved away from the bed ad walked to her desk. She opened her computer and pulled up a file or two before handing me the laptop. _Disaster,_ was the title of the little clip.

Charlotte looked exactly the same, just younger. The time stamp was five years ago. Her arms were thick and muscular, her abs almost showing through her swimsuit. I watched her take a deep breath and lift her arms over her head. She turned to face the back wall, her heels hanging over the edge. _"Go Charlotte. You're dawdling!" _It sounded like her mother shouting at her. _"Maria, she's deaf. She's not going to hear you shouting at her. She'll jump when she's ready."_ So it was her parents. She took a deep breath and bent her knees.

Like a coiled spring she exploded into the air. Her body twisted in ways I hadn't thought possible. I could only watch in horror as her head collided with the edge of the platform she had been standing on. Even on the video, you could see her head smack the concrete. The sound was deafening when she smacked the water. Red snaked around her body. _"Turn that fucking thing off," _her dad shouted as he jumped into the water and grabbed her lifeless little body. She was brought to the surface and then it went black.

Charlotte was sitting on her bed again, holding a notepad in her hands. I took it from her and tossed it on her desk. _"Tell me," _I begged. I wanted to see it from her hands, to watch her face while she signed so that I could see if she was lying about something, if she was downplaying something. It was what I had learned about her writing. She may be able to communicate with me better, but it took her emotions out of her words. She nodded and lifted her hair. A little two inch line refused to grow hair like the rest of her hair.

_"My mom used to d-i-v-e."_ I nodded my understanding. _"My dad used to want me to be like her. I was a good swimmer when I was a kid. I was a better diver. That was the second time that my mom came back from wherever."_ She gestured to the computer time stamp. _"She was so sure that I was going to make it big, to be in the o-l-y-m-p-i-c-s. She kept pushing me and pushing me and then I did that._

_"The doctors say that I will never dive like that again. I can do some things still, but nothing like that. Mom doesn't think I know why she left after that. I wasn't good enough to be a professional diver. Penny said she told my dad that I was worth nothing the night that she left again. That's just what it is."_

"You're worth everything, Charlotte," I whispered. I pulled her closer to me, threading my fingers through her hair, leaving one on top of her scar. "Your mom is an idiot and a bitch." She smiled at me. "Do you have any problems because of it?" I knew from experience that head injuries were tricky little bastards.

She jumped up and grabbed her notepad. _I get dizzy and disoriented sometimes, like it I spin to fast. And I get headaches all the time. But other than that I'm just a normal deaf teenager._ She did that a lot. She would say things about herself and emphasize the fact that she was deaf. I didn't give a fuck.

_"Why is your mom here now?" _If she only came around when she thought that she could make a quick buck, why come around when Charlotte was only just starting school.

_"I don't know, Paul." _

I pulled her off her bed and into my arms so that I could hold her. She looked so confused and hurt and upset. No one should have to feel this way, least of all Charlotte. I kissed the top of her head. "We'll figure this out. Everything's going to be fine." I knew she couldn't hear me, but as she rested her head against my chest and melted against me, I got the strangest feeling she knew what I was trying to say. God I was turning into a fucking girl.


	18. Chapter XVII

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I would love to see some reviews today (more than normal please) to help me decide where I want to go before I hit the major points in the story. Please let me know. I little inspiration helps both of us!**

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**Chapter XVII**

I pushed my feet into my jeans and turned to find Penny staring at me. "What?"

"You like him."

"Of course I do; he's nice." I shrugged, not wanting to let on just how much that I liked Paul. If someone had told me a month ago that I would be tripping over myself trying to talk to Paul LaHote, I would have laughed at them. I didn't really care what people had to say to me; I couldn't hear them. But there was something about Paul and his sister that made me want to try a little harder.

"You like him more than just that. I didn't even know LaHote had a sister."

"Apparently, you didn't know that he has a first name either." I hated that she always chose to call him by his last name. It felt rude and impersonal. And Paul ate lunch with us everyday, although I had noticed that we had started migrating closer to the table that all his friends sat at. Penny waved a hand at me to dismiss me and moved towards the garage.

The bikes were gathering a little dust. It had been two weeks since our last _outing_ and if you asked me, I would say that it was long overdue. We pushed the bikes up the little hill that led to her garage and onto the flat ground. I pulled my helmet and goggles down over my face. "Long ride?" I nodded back at her and we sped off.

There's nothing that can describe what riding feels like. The speed whipping the wind through your hair, the weightless feeling of flying every time the air lifted you a little. I had read so many horror stories about falling and never getting up. I'd read about the sounds that the bikes make and how it could freak competitors out before a race started. It was a widely accepted fact among the guys on the Rez that I was the Queen of the Track. Well, the girl who had my bike was the Queen. I didn't know anyone on the reservation, not when I started riding. So I carefully avoided letting people know who I was.

I know that it seemed boring. I know that it probably seems boring, going round and round on the track. And even though I've been on this track everyday since Penny and I turned eight, it was still amazing. Even whoop, every jump, every thing that we had gave me shivers down my spine. Penny wouldn't do it, at least not too fast. She always worried about hurting herself. And her job didn't have any real health insurance.

I had offered, on multiple occasions to help her out if she needed it. Being deaf came with certain monetary funds that my father put right in my account. He never felt like he needed it. He had a secure job with good pay and a daughter who didn't need much in terms of funds. But Penny never accepted help from me. So the money just sat in my account. I rounded a tree and turned, noticing one of the Douche-Bags right behind me. Oh Tyler Redtree.

His reputation was worse than Paul's. It was funny because Paul had this horrendous reputation of being a man-whore and asshole, but there was no proof. Everyone that I had ever talked to about Paul's reputation, well written with, had said that it was just what they heard. There was a part of me that wanted to believe that Paul's reputation was fake, that he didn't actually have a reputation. But it probably wasn't true. Either way, I didn't care about it.

Redtree got closer to me, his front wheel only inches away from my back one. I looked over my shoulder just a little to see where he was. He faked towards me and I did the one thing that I wasn't supposed to do. I jerked away from him, enough to tumbled off my bike and drop into the dirt.

Penny was at my side in a flash, but I was fine. My wrist hurt like a bitch, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. She tugged on my helmet until it gave way. "This is why I don't want to let you do this shit." I rolled my eyes at her. She helped me pull my bike out of the dirt, not noticing that I wasn't using my left wrist. "One more round?"

"No; I'm good for tonight." Never admit defeat. Never admit pain. Because pain is temporary, but pride is forever.

Penny didn't seem to notice that I wasn't using my other hand, that it was lying limply on the handle bar. God forbid something happened. Penny held up her hand to signal us to stop, turning back to look at me. She turned back and checked on me. "What?"

"Heard something." I guess that was one thing that I loved about sign language. We could still communicate, even with the helmets pressed over our heads.

A blue wolf jumped out from the bushes, eliciting a sound that I would never hear from my throat. I cradled my hand against my chest and looked at dark eyes that I knew. I knew those eyes. They peered into the heart of me while I was trying to calm my heart down. And as soon as the animal appeared, it was gone. It held my eyes for a brief moment and then sprang away.

Penny closed her upheld hand, telling me that we could move on. We dashed along the path until we got to Penny's house again. "I'm going to just head home." Penny nodded and pushed my dress into her laundry room. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I won't be at school tomorrow; I have to work." I just nodded. I had trouble with believing that Penny could just ditch school for work, but she had to work and I understood that. At least, I tried to understand that.

The next morning, I was standing by my locker, my hand resting against my chest. I had spent the entire night tossing and turning trying to find a good place to rest my arm. It hurt like hell. Paul appeared behind me, his warm hand closing around my shoulder. I turned towards him with a tired smile on my face. The smile that was on his own face dropped as he saw me. _"Are you okay?"_ I nodded, but my gaze still dropped to my throbbing wrist. Fuck this shit man.

Paul's warm fingers wrapped around my chin and pulled me back to him. "What happened, Charlotte? Are you okay?" I nodded again. "You don't look okay."

"I was sneaking out yesterday and I hurt my wrist." Why did it hurt so much to lie to Paul? "It's just a little sore. I'm fine. I promise."

His hand dropped from my chin and I instantly missed the warmth that I associated with Paul. _"It's just sore?" _I nodded and gently placed my hand in my jacket pocket and turned towards the classroom. _"You're sure? Because it looks like it hurts more than you're letting on."_ I just shook my head and starting walking. He didn't look at all happy but followed me anyways.

We had our simple conversations, talking about the nights and all that. Paul checked in for me, like he normally did. I rested my arm against the desk to keep it safe. It hurt more than it should for just a little injury. I was worried that this was more than just a hurt, but I ignored it and pushed back the tears that I could feel searing my eyes. I was just fine.

Until Paul's large hand smacked my wrist when he moved. I sucked in a breath of air through my teeth and rested my arm against my chest, my other hand hovering over the skin, but not touching. "That's it. _What happened?_"

"Nothing!"

_"We're going to the hospital at the end of the class."_ I shook my head adamantly.

"My dad doesn't know Paul; I'll get in trouble and probably grounded for the rest of my life." He glared at me with anger that I hadn't seen before. Slowly, his arms started shaking until the trembling got more prevalent.

_"After class we're taking you to someone who can get that looked at."_ His face left no room for argument so I nodded. As soon as the bell rang, Paul's hand wrapped around my shoulder and pulled me towards the parking lot. He walked up to a motorcycle that I had never seen him. "Ari is at her friend's today, so I took Jake's bike." Who was Jake? Whatever; don't care. He straddled the bike and reached behind to grab the helmet. He pulled the helmet over my head and slid the little visor down. I wrapped both arms around him, letting the hand rest against his hard stomach. He didn't touch it or jostle it, just left it sitting against him.

We pulled up to a house that I hadn't seen before, turning off his bike and waiting for me to move away from him. But I didn't want to move. I sat up and cradled my hand against my chest. "Emily, Sam!" He walked us up the stairs and got us into the house. A woman with scars down the side of her face appeared in the door. Emily Young. I had read articles about her after her accident, seen her face in the paper. She was so pretty, despite the there was something about her that screamed mother hen.

"Emily, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, this is my friend Emily." He turned his face towards her and spoke swiftly, not giving me a chance to catch up. _"Emily will fix you up, okay? No hospital. Your dad doesn't have to know."_ I nodded and smiled at him. _"But you're going to tell me that happened, Charlotte."_

After Emily messed with my wrist and decided that it was broken, Paul wrapped his arms around me and held me still while she made sure the bones were in the right places and wrapped it. "Thank you for not calling my parents." Paul vocalized it for me. Emily just nodded and smiled and walked back to her kitchen. Paul turned me towards him.

_"What happened?"_

"I like to ride dirt bikes." His eyes went wide as he realized what I was saying. "And I took a bad fall last night when Penny and I were out on the track. It's nothing, Paul; I've had worse." He didn't look convinced.

_"You could've been killed, Charlotte."_

"But I wasn't. You could be killed driving. Penny could die in some freak accident." He was shaking still. "My dad wanted me to stay so safe that I needed something that I could do that _wasn't_."

He sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Call me next time, okay. Or text me, I guess. Night or day. I can't let you get hurt like this again."

Overprotective little pain.

And I think I might like that about him.


	19. Chapter XVIII

**Author's Note: Okay, people, I am apologizing now for the fact that this is literally an hour and a half late. I don't even know how to tell you all how sorry I am. My computer was diagnosed with a hard drive failure (after the hardware malfunction that it suffered a few weeks ago). Anyways, the IT people have it and are keeping it to install a new hard drive until tomorrow afternoon. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that tomorrow's chapter will be up late in the afternoon as well. I'm really really sorry. I couldn't even open the files that I had backed up on my roommate's computer because they were in Mac formats instead of PCs. I really hope that this lives up to the usual standard. Please let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter XVIII**

My wrist was in pain, but a few days later, it was nothing compared to what it had been when I'd first fallen. Or the night after for that matter. Paul had insisted that I give my wrist at least two weeks to heal before he would let me get back out on the track. And even then, he wanted to be at all my rides to make sure that I didn't hurt myself. I didn't really care. I like being around Paul.

We were sitting on the beach, me, Paul and Ari. I was still favoring my wrist a little, trying not to use it unless I really had to. Ari was laughing, teasing her brother, reminding him of some of the stupid things that he had done when they were younger. Paul just looked angry at her, but didn't say anything. All at once, his head snapped up the forest line. _"I've got to go; I'll be back soon. You two stay here, okay?"_ Ari and I both nodded. They were both so good about my deafness. We rarely _spoke_ when we were together. Ari had started helping her brother with his sign language, which gave him someone to work with when I wasn't round. He bounded off to the trees and left the two of us sitting there.

"He does that a lot, huh?" I had noticed it more and more. I didn't know why he left or what signaled him that he needed to go. It was never at convenient times, either. He could be sitting in the house with me, watching me tease him about his sign language. It's not my fault that he says funny things sometimes. And then his head snaps to the forests and he's saying that he has to leave.

I asked him about it only once. He told me that he had a job as a tribal protector and there were times that he just needed to leave. It was a constant on-call job. And that only made me worry all the more about him. What if something happened? What if him and his friends came up against someone that they couldn't happen then? What would happen to Ariana then? I had never actually heard Paul talk about his father, but I knew from Ari that there was a father. I had also gathered that he wasn't someone that Ari and Paul liked very much.

Ariana's head snapped up and swiveled around. The motion looked painful. I followed her gaze to see a woman with flaming red hair standing a few hundred yards away from us. I couldn't tell much about her, except that she was pale and redheaded. I motioned Ariana closer. I had always been wary of strangers, mostly due to my sheltered lifestyle. But with the edge that Paul had been on lately, I didn't feel any better if he wasn't around. At thirteen, Ari was still a little girl. She was only about five years younger than myself, but I still saw her as a child. And I wasn't willing to let her get hurt. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against my side. _"You stay with me, you got it?"_ She nodded her acceptance.

The woman came closer, her feet barely causing the sand to shift as she ghosted towards us. I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. Everything about this woman screamed for me to run away, to throw Ariana over my shoulder and get as far away from here as I could. Ari tugged on my long sleeve shirt, suddenly looking more mature than I had ever seen her. _"Should I call Paul?"_

If Ari was as worried as I was, then I must not be overreacting. I nodded and watched her pull her little phone out and begin dialing furiously. "I didn't think that they would leave you two out here alone." She was close enough now that I could actually see what she was saying. Just the way her lips seemed to form each sound made me want to curl in a hole and die. It was like there was something predatory about her. "Ari, you do exactly as I say. You have to listen to me, you got that?"She didn't look like she agreed with it, but she must be used to Paul's brusque manner because she just agreed with me.

"I keep trying to go after the others, but they're so well protected." I watched her chest heave in a mournful sigh while she began circling the two of us. I followed her gaze, making sure to keep Ari mostly behind me and out of harm's way. "Neither one of you smells too good." What the hell was she talking about? "Not nearly as good as some of the other mates. But you'll have to do."

"Ari, start walking towards Emily and Sam's." That was one of Paul's few rules. The first, and most important, was to always call him when we were in a bind. The second was to head to Emily's if anything went wrong. "Don't stop until you get there, okay?"

"I don't want to leave you here, Charlie." She wasn't even bothering to sign. "She scares me."

"Oh, I won't hurt you little one. You're too easy." She pressed a finger against her chin and looked thoughtful. "Although two of you would certainly get their blood boiling." I bit my lip and turned to look down at Paul's baby sister.

I had come to the realization and, ultimately, the acceptance that I was falling for Paul LaHote. Maybe it was because he was the first guy in a long time to give me any attention. Maybe it was because there was a part of me that was completely sure that the guy I knew in Paul was the exact person that he was. But with Paul came Ariana. And I wanted to be everything for her that Penny had always been for me. And that meant keep her safe. "Listen to me, Ariana. You are going to get out of here now. Head for Sam and Emily's and wait for me or Paul there."

She frowned at me, but started walking backwards, her eyes never leaving the woman in front of us. "Leaving so soon?" I waved Ari on behind my back. The coldness radiated off this woman like liquid nitrogen when you left it too close to your finger. I kept my eyes on her and only her. "Right on time." Her eyes gleamed as she looked to the forest line. The silver wolf that I had seen the other night came sprinting through the forest, his teeth barred in what looked like a vicious snarl. Several others followed. One black, a littler white-grey one, one that could have blended in with the sand all ran in after him.

The woman appeared in front of my face like she had been there the whole time. Her frozen hand wrapped around my neck and pulled me against her chest. I waved Ariana on, hoping that she would see it and get out. This wasn't right; this wasn't human. Something leapt on us from behind, sending her and me crashing into the sand.

My head pounded, my pulse drumming in my ears while I spat out sand. And as soon as everything had started, everyone was gone. The redheaded woman was running to the trees, the majority of the wolves following her. The silver one split from the rest and darted off into a different part of the forest. I managed to push myself to my knees, but the world around me was still spinning. I was panting, trying to make the world around me come to a standstill.

Paul appeared in front of me, his arms shaking more and more as he neared me. Exhaustion swept over me like a warm blanket, something warm trickling down my neck. "Don't go, Charlotte." I stared at his lips, trying to get him to stop moving. But it wasn't him. It was me. It was my brain that wouldn't stop the world around me from shaking. I guess it was good that the spinning had stopped at least.

I felt his hot rough hands on my cheeks as he pulled my gaze to him. He was still shaking and there was still warmth dripping down my neck. I tried to see him, but I just couldn't. I wasn't sure if it was my diving accident acting up or the way that I had hit the ground when I'd fallen. Maybe a combination of the two; it'd certainly felt like something rock hard had hit me when I'd fallen. But I wasn't sure. Ariana was sitting in front of me then. I couldn't even bring myself to be angry that she was still here after I'd given her orders to go away. Then again, it wasn't like I was her boss of anything.

"Hold on, Charlotte." At least I'd managed to make that part out. "Hold on." I was trying, but the imaginary hand that I had wrapped around my consciousness to keep me there slipped and I dropped into oblivion.


	20. Chapter XIX

**Author's Note: Okay, people, here we go. Now, those who read ****_Some Hearts, but Not Mine _****are alreayd aware of this, but I'm just trying to let everyone know. My computer has to stay in the IT lab over the weekend because life hates me that much. If you wouldn't mind reviewing and telling me what you think about the proposition I'm about to tell you, I would greatly appreciate it. I can either post a chapter at night, of questionable quality since everything truly importan is on the computer in the lab OR I can postpone chapters until I get my computer back next week. If I post chapters while the computer is gone, they will be at night when my roommate is finished with her little computer. Please let me know what you think. By the way, the below chapter is one that I would consider to be of questionable quality.**

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**Chapter XIX**

I pried my eyes open and stared up at the brown eyes looking at me. "Where's Ariana?" He sagged in relief and pressed his lips to my forehead. "Paul?"

"Ari is fine; she went to Sam and Emily's." I nodded, realizing for the first time that the sky and trees above me where moving, shifting and changing. He was walking. Where were we going then? "I'm taking you home." I couldn't feel my legs moving. And how had he known what I was thinking about? I frowned. He was… carrying me? I didn't want to go home.

Mom and Dad were waiting on the front porch together. Someone had to have called them because there was no way that they were sitting together of their own free will. Paul must have called them. Dad was down the stairs in an instant, trying to take me out of Paul's arms. But I didn't want to go. I wasn't willing to go. I turned into his chest and tried to wrap my hands around his shirt, but he wasn't wearing one. I must have made some sound or another because he pulled me closer to his chest, a hiss vibrating in his throat. "You're okay, Charlotte. You're okay. We're just going to get you in the house, okay?" I nodded against his chest and let my head rest.

The next thing I felt was the coolness of my bed and Paul's arms leaving my body. I reached out for him, for his warmth, for the comfort. A hand smoothed over my hair and a circle of warmth pressed against my forehead. I was drifting off to sleep again, the blankets warmed by my body heat finally comforting me. Something rough, like the bad of a dog's feet, rubbed against my cheek. The friction was so nice, so comforting.

I woke a little while later, opening my eyes to find my bedroom, just as it always was. But something seemed out of place, something different than normal. I pushed myself up, ignoring the light throbbing in my head. I saw him then, sprawled out in my reading chair. It was probably the best thing for him to be in. No other chairs that I had would fit his large form. The room around me shook a little. I pressed a hand to my forehead and willed it all to stop. And then Paul appeared on my bed. "You're awake." I nodded. "Are you okay? Your head hurt?" I nodded again. "I'll get your parents."

I reached up and grabbed his arm, shaking my head just a little. "They're worried, huh?" He nodded in response. "What happened, Paul? I don't - I don't really remember."

"You and Ari were attacked." By wolves. I remembered now. That woman had - the woman. It wasn't the wolves that were after us. That woman had threatened us.

"The wolves were trying to protect us, Paul. You can't let my parents know about them." They will only try to have the animals killed. And if it wasn't for them, Ariana and I wouldn't be alive. "Please Paul, promise me you won't tell."

_"I won't."_ Good; that only left the question of who that woman was. And why I was scared of her. There was something about her that just told me to run, to get everything I cared about away from her. Paul reached forward, his thumb stroking my cheek. That must have been the roughness that I'd felt early. _"You scared the shit out of me, Charlotte."_ I smiled a little, chasing the friction he created with my cheek. _"You feel better, right?"_ I nodded, wishing he would just touch my face again.

No I didn't. I didn't want to fall in love. Not again. The last time hadn't ended well for me and I doubted that this would be any better. "Come in." I hated when he did that. He would just stare at me, but he'd be talking to someone else. It always threw me off. My parents came into view as Paul moved off my bed. They said something to him, but I wasn't paying attention to him. I was more focused on Paul and the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he spoke. "I'll be off then. _Text me if you need me, Charlotte. I'll be close by._"

"Everything will be fine." He gave me a look that told me that wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Okay, okay. I'll text you if I need you,"

_"Promise."_

"I promise, Paul. Tell Ariana that I'm sorry." He nodded and leaned forward again, but quickly remembered that my parents were here. "I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and stood. I watched him bid goodbye to my parents and take himself out the door.

"Of all the clumsy things, Charlotte; you fell on a rock and almost cracked your head open." Mom kept up her rant, but I stopped paying attention.

_"Charlotte, your mother and I have something that we want to discuss with you."_ Was this really the best time? I had just cracked my head open on a rock, or something like that. I was glad that Paul hadn't told them about the wolves. I wondered if they had killed the woman. I hoped not. But there was something that wasn't normal about her. And those dogs were so beautifully large and elegant. They shouldn't be hunted anymore. _"Your mother and I haven't always seen eye to eye, Charlotte, but on this matter we agree."_

I knew what it was, and I didn't want to hear it. Not again. "Your father and I think that you should spend some time with me in California. There are some amazing doctors there. Maybe we could revisit the -"

"No."

_"Charlotte, be reasonable."_

"No, Dad; listen to me, please! I know what I want and I am happy the way that things are right now." I didn't want to leave. I had friends here now. I had a life here.

"Charlotte, these doctors could help you hear! How could you not want that? You begged your dad to let you be normal and here is your chance. The outcomes of these surgeries are fantastic."

"I don't want the surgery."

"Why don't you want to hear? Give me one good reason. Being deaf has caused you nothing but misery and caused our family nothing but hardship."

I glared at her and grabbed my notepad. How was I related to this woman? How had she been the one to give me life? She didn't give a flying fart in hell about me; about what I wanted. _I don't want to hear; not for your reasons. The world has shown me that hearing people aren't always kind to me. I know what they say about me, regardless of whether I am deaf or not. Why would I want to **hear** what they have to say about me? And as for the misery that my deafness has caused our family, I think you had better look in the mirror. You were the one that left. You were the one that came back when you thought I had talent. And you left as soon as we realized that I wasn't good enough. You are the one that has caused problems in this family. And don't think I'm stupid; you want me to come and live with you so my government aid checks get sent to you._

She thought I didn't know about the stipend that I received from the tribe, being the only deaf person within our tribe. Dad had been putting the money aside for me since I was a child. In just a few short months, it would be mine to do what I pleased with. "You think that you get to speak to me like that? I am your mother."

_You have not been my mother!_ I scrawled on the pad and tossed it back in her face. I pushed myself off the bed, ignoring the wooziness and grabbing my phone.

_"Charlotte, your mother and I are just trying to do what we think is best."_

"How can being around her be good for me in any way? She is the reason that I can't dive anymore. She is the reason that I can't trust anymore. She has never been a parent to me. I don't want to live with her and you can't make me." He stared at me with disbelief. "I turn eighteen in just a few months. If you send me away, I'll just come back."

"Charlotte, your mother -"

"She is not my mother!" Dad must have repeated what I said. I turned to glare at her, not prepared for her hand to swing, the band of her ring catching my cheekbone.

"Maria!" Dad's face showed his disbelief. I, on the other hand, had been struck by my mother before. And I finally had someone who would fight for me. I grabbed my phone and sent one text. _I need you. Please. _"Your mother didn't mean that, Charlotte. She never wants to hurt you."_  
_

"It's not the first time. I've told you before and you chose not to believe me." Dad looked hurt. I took a step closer. "You're a great father, Dad. But you've always loved Mom and because of that, you've never wanted to see the things that she does. I won't go live with her."I marched down the stairs and sat on the bottom step, staring at the front door.

The entire house shuttered when Paul ripped the door open and slammed it shut. His eyes quickly found me, his arms shaking desperately. "Are you okay? _What's wrong? What happened?"_ I didn't know what to say to him, how to explain everything. "Hey, Charlotte; I'm here now. Tell me what's wrong."

Paul was ripped away from me. Mom turned me in her arms. "Pack your things Charlotte. We're leaving." Paul's arm wrapped around me and pulled me to his side.

"_What happened to your face?_"

"Don't get mad." Paul and his temper were beyond control sometimes. He would get angry and start yelling and I had no chance of understanding him them. He nodded stiffly. "My mother hit me." The trembling of his arms increased tenfold.

_"Get your things; we're leaving."_ He gripped me hand and his, pulling me up the stairs. My mother opened and closed her mouth like a fish. No matter how much I wanted to find out what she was saying, Paul just kept pulling me along. "She is leaving with me." Dad glared at Paul. "Get your things." I nodded.


	21. Chapter XX

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. The plan is to post the chapter at night, when my lovely roommate is finished using her computer. The good news is that she loves coffee so I was able to buy her Starbucks to bribe her to let me use it until further notice. Anyways, enjoy!**

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**Chapter XX**

Paul stood in the doorway, blocking my dad from getting in. I knelt down on the ground, gathering all of my things with shaking hands. I had expected Paul to come in and make my mother leave. I had never thought that he would come in here and ask me to leave, to take me away from them. I must not have been fast enough for him.

His hands were on top of mine, pulling them away. He grabbed fistfuls of clothing from my drawers and threw them into my suitcase. His arms were shaking, his jaw set in a hard line that made me think that he was going to kill someone. And the muscles and pure masculinity that were radiating off of him said that he could. He turned to face me. "Grab whatever you need that's important We'll come back for the rest of it another day." I nodded and turned to grab a few of my favorite books, my bathroom stuff, and my backpack.

"You cannot just take my daughter away from me!" Dad pressed a hand against Paul's chest. "Her mother didn't mean anything by it. Charlotte spoke out of turn." Paul's hand was wrapped around mine, our fingers threaded together.

"I'm taking your daughter out of here. She doesn't want to be here. And if you won't protect her then I will." He grabbed my suitcase in one hand, slinging my backpack over the same shoulder and pulling me out. He didn't stop, the vibrations radiated off his chest as he walked. He threw my things in the bed of his truck and pulled me into the front cab with him. Only then did he turn to face me. His long fingers wrapped around my jaw and pulled it to the light where he could see me.

I knew that my cheek was probably red and it felt hotter than Paul. His finger ran lightly over my cheek bone, his other arm still shaking. "Are you okay?" I nodded. "Can you go to Penn's?" I shook my head this time.

"Penny really values her privacy, Paul. And her apartment is really small." He gnawed on his lower lip, obviously unhappy with my answer. "I can just wait until things blow over. It isn't the first time and it won't be the last." His heat was burning through the car, like his temperature was climbing.

"I'm not letting you go back there, Charlotte. She's done this before?" I nodded and his lips peeled back to reveal straight, white teeth. "You're not going back there. I don't care how much you argue with me. I won't let you." I didn't say anything to him, but I did try to pull away and look at something else.

My dad was great, he really was. But he was so in love with my mother that he could never see the things that she did. My mom had long since made a habit of hitting me. It was never anything more than just a smack across of the face when she felt that I had gotten out of line. I knew that there were others who had it worse than I did and that my mother wasn't necessarily beating me. It was more like spanking me, I guess. Just my face instead of my ass. I had told my dad about it the first time that it happened. And his response, being the love struck man that he is, was to inform me that my mother wouldn't do such a thing. So I let it slide by. I told him the next time, when I'd been arguing with her about doing the dive that ended my career. Not that it would've mattered; diving is a short person's sport and I was anything but short. Dad cared about me, I knew he did. But it was hard for him to face reality when it came to Mom.

Paul pulled to a stop in front of Sam and Emily's, his arms vibrating in front of me. "You go on inside. I need to go let off some steam," he said tightly. I nodded, glad that he wasn't yelling at me. I walked into the house to find Emily slaving over some ruined snickerdoodles.

"I don't even know what went wrong." She was checking over a book, still not noticing that I was there. I rapped my knuckles against the wood, watching her head pop up. "Charlotte! It's good to see you again."

"You too." She frowned a little.

"Sorry, I haven't been learning very much." I didn't expect her to learn; I didn't really know her. It wasn't like I was going to be very important to her. "There's a notepad in the top drawer over there." I nodded and retrieved it, looking at her flattened cookies.

_They need cream of tartar,_ I scribbled, handing her the pad. She looked down at it for a brief moment.

"Where did you learn how to bake?" She checked over her recipe and didn't find it there.

_I taught myself while I was being homeschooled. I have a recipe if you want it._ She smiled and nodded. I continued to scribble, thinking up the proper proportions off the top of my head. Emily thanked me when I handed it back to her, scrapping the dough that she'd been working on and starting again. She chattered on and on, not really looking at me. It didn't seem like she cared though, more like she just wanted to talk for the sake of talking.

"Hey guys." I followed her gaze to find Paul and Sam standing in the doorway. Sam crossed the threshold and went straight to Emily, not even sparing me a second glance. He pressed his lips to the scars that marred the side of her face and finally to her face. Paul's hand wrapped gently around my elbow, turning me to look at him.

"You want to go take a walk?" I nodded and linked my arm with his as we walked. _"I'm sorry that I had to leave."_ I just shrugged. _"No, I'm really sorry Charlotte. I was so upset about your mom and your dad; I just didn't know how to react and I didn't want to scare you or anything."_ I nodded, my hand still resting against his forearm. _"Sam says that you can stay here, with him and Emily if you want."_

"I don't want to be in the way, Paul."

_"You're not in the way, Charlotte. I care about you and so do my friends; it comes with the territory. You can stay here if you want or you can talk to Penn about moving in with her. But you're staying here tonight, okay?"_

I stopped, knowing that Paul would stop with me. I had never been the one to try initiating the embraces, few as they were. He was always so gentle with me and while I was afraid of what would happen if I let myself fall again, I couldn't fight the fact that I was falling. "Thank you." I moved my arm from his hand to his waist, resting my head against his chest. His arms didn't fall around me immediately. He was hesitating, probably waiting for me to pull away. But I wasn't planning on doing that any time soon. For the first time in a very long time, I felt like someone actually cared about me; someone that was willing to do whatever he could to get me out of there.

Finally his arms fell around me then, one had on the nape of my neck and the other on my back. I felt a nice circle of warmth, like I had earlier that afternoon, on the crown of my head. His chest thrummed underneath my cheek, his heart pounding against my ear. I'm sure he was saying something that I wouldn't hear. He just held me tight against his chest, his breathing soothing away the agitation of the morning. And then he pulled back. "What did you and your mother fight about?"

There was a part of me that wondered how Paul would handle my decision. Would he want me to be able to hear? I suppose that everyone would _want_ to hear. And I guess that I did. There were things that I wanted to hear, like Paul's voice, the birds in the trees, Ariana's laugh, Penny's little growl. But I didn't want to hear because I wanted to be normal. I had been this way my entire life; this was normal. "My parents want me to get this surgery. It would allow me to hear again. Maybe; I mean, we really don't know if it would work. It has these great statistics and all that."

_"But?"_

"My mom wants me to hear because she wants a daughter who is as normal as what she always pictured."

_"Do you want to hear Charlotte?" _

"I don't know." He nodded. "Do you want me to be hearing?"

Paul pressed his lips to my cheek, brushing against the corner of my mouth when he pulled away. "I want you to be happy, Charlotte. You can get the surgery or not. Either way you choose, I'll be happy for you."

"You'll be happy if I was deaf for the rest of my life?" He nodded and I cocked my head to the side. "You'll still want to be my friend if I'm deaf?" He chuckled, a smile forming on his lips.

"You being deaf doesn't change who you are, Charlotte. And whether you're deaf or hearing, you are still Charlotte Rivers. And I will be whatever you want me to be, whatever you need."

"Do you always plan the right thing to say?" His eyes crinkled with his laughter.

"We should get going; Emily will have dinner ready. You ready to meet the rest of the guys?" I nodded, although I felt a little nervous. "You'll be great, okay? Let's get going." He kissed my cheek again, but all I could think about was how they would feel against my lips. Shit, I was falling hard and fast.


	22. Chapter XXI

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate them and I'm glad to know that everyone is liking where I'm going and the expansion to a seriously underdeveloped character. Anyways, I hope that this is to everyone's liking!**

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**Chapter XXI**

It was officially the end of the school year. Everyone was happy and celebrating and I was no exception. "Do you and Ari want to come to dinner?" Emily had told me to invite them. She and Sam had made living with them beyond easy. I had very few chores and responsibilities, only that I help when asked and that I do my homework. Both of those could very easily be done. Paul had taken me riding almost every night. He never said anything about what I did, but I think that it worried him more than a little bit. Still, he took me and allowed me to go. His sign language was almost perfect in our two months together, which made me wonder just how much time he spent working on it.

I had met all of Paul's friends, who just as large, intimidating, and kind as he was. He was ridiculously overprotective of me when I was around them, which was all the time since they seemed to all but live at Sam and Emily's. They all had their own personalities that I would bet were louder than their actual voices. Everything had been fine until someone had thrown something at the back of my head. Apparently, they had said "Heads up." But I hadn't heard it and the little thing ended up smacking me in the head. Paul had started his shaking again, his temper escalating while the kid named Quil apologized again and again. Eventually Sam had kicked them out of the house and dragged the two of them into the forest.

It had all worked out and I found that I liked being around the guys. They all tried their hand at sign language, but found that it was easier to just talk to me. So long as they were looking at me, everything was fine. Well, not everything. I couldn't reply to them. Paul did a pretty good job of speaking for me, though. And unlike Penny, he didn't try to change the things that I said. _"Ariana and I have a tradition on the last day of school, actually."_ His quick signs brought me out of my memories and back to the present. I was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to hang out with me on the last day of school. We had become so close. I saw him every day now, especially since I was living at half-naked boy headquarters. But I understood; it was the end of the year and he had only known me for two months.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the end of the year. Living with Sam and Emily had made me feel more normal than I ever had in my life. They took such good care of me and asked so little of me in return. One day, they would make great parents; better than my parents had ever been. My mom was gone, having grown tired of waiting for me to talk to her. My dad hadn't really made any efforts to talk to me since I had walked out. At least, nothing more than the text message I had received two months after my leaving telling me that my mom had left and he wanted me to come back home.

Here was the shitty thing about learning what a good thing could be: you didn't want to go back to the bad thing. That's where I was at. I had been so used to the idea that I was something to be ashamed of, that my dad had every right to feel the way he did. But Paul took me places, introduced me to his friends and his sister, he acted like I was just another normal personal. Ari and I had given him the name sign _temper_ because we felt it fit him best. Although when we wanted to bother him, Ari had given the name Paulie to the sign _cute_. Watching Paul's face flame at the word was always entertaining. _"I'll pick you up at four, okay?"_ I nodded, by my brain hadn't really processed what he was saying.

"Wait, you want me to go with you?" Didn't he say that he and Ari had their own little tradition? He frowned at me like I was signing gibberish at him.

_"Of course; why did you think that I wouldn't?"_

I shrugged, not wanting him to feel like I was so needy or anything. "I just assumed that you and Ari had your own little thing that you wanted to do. I didn't want to –" His large, hot hands closed around mine, the heart stealing my breath away. I hoped that Paul didn't know what it did to me every time he touched me. And since I had moved out, he had started doing it more and more. I wasn't sure if it was because I wasn't living at my dad's anymore or because I had been the one to hug him, but he found some way to do it every day that was more than just friendly. And it sent me into a bipolar spiral, unsure which side of my brain I should let win.

_"Charlotte, Ariana and I have our tradition that I didn't want to give up on. But I want you there with me and she even asked me yesterday if you were coming with us. I just assumed that you would since you've gone with me to pick her up everyday for a while now. I guess that was a little rude of me. But –" _Now it was my turn to grab his hands and stop him from signing.

"I'm glad that you both want me there." The truth was, I was falling for both of the LaHote siblings hard and fast. Ariana was the little sister that I had always wanted but never had. She was funny and witty and little bit of a pain in the ass. I had still yet to meet their father and every time I asked about him, Paul's tremors started. So I just let it drop and waited, hoping that one day he would introduce us.

_"Let's get you home. Wear something comfy and warm; Ari and I will be there to pick you up at four."_ We stopped talking about the upcoming plans then and just talked about our day. Well, I signed and Paul pretended like he was paying attention. It was hard for him to sign and drive at the same time. And I didn't really have any experience with it, so I couldn't exactly help him.

I was rummaging through my closet at Sam and Emily's, most of my clothing here now that I had moved it from Penny's. Paul and I had never gone back to my house to get the rest of my things, which was fine with me. I didn't really have anything of value there anymore. Except for the shirt that I was wanting to wear tonight. "Emily, I'm going to head over to my dad's and get a shirt."

_"Do you need a drive?"_

I smiled at her mistake, but shook my head. "I'll be back real soon." She nodded and told me to be safe before I walked out the door and to the house. Dad's beamer was parked in the driveway, which was a surprise. Still, I wiped the shock off my face and marched up to the front door, knocking harshly.

"Charlotte?" The surprise was clear on his face until it flat lined and he looked around me. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Paul's not my boyfriend, Dad. And I'm only here to get a few things."

_"Why don't you move back Charlotte? Your mother is gone and I have made it clear to her that your decisions are your own."_

"Dad, my birthday is in three days. It doesn't matter what you guys say; I'm not doing this surgery." My mind was made up. I didn't need to do the surgery. I had made friends that liked me just the way I was. I had my own life and the people that were in it didn't care whether I was deaf or hearing. _Paul_ didn't care whether I was deaf or hearing. "Can I please just get my things and leave? I can come back with Paul if that will make you listen to me."

"_How do you that this boy is any different from the last one? You thought the last one cared about you too and look where that got you."_

"Paul is different, Dad. He's done nothing but care about since I met him. And unlike _the last one_ I don't have to work for him to want to be around me."

Dad hung his head and shook it side to side, like he was ashamed about the decisions that I was making. It wasn't like he had fought all that hard to get me to stay or to get me to come back. I hustled up to my room and grabbed the shirt and a few other things so that it wouldn't look like I had come for one stupid shirt. Dad was waiting by the front door. "That's all you came for?" I nodded, my chin rising a notch in a silent dare. "I'm your father Charlotte; I'm just looking out for you."

"And you're not signing anymore either, I see." His eyes narrowed.

"Charlotte, please –"

I walked out the door and back to my new home, a place that made me feel safer than I had in ages. I didn't feel like I was being suffocated, forced to be the copy of a person that I had nothing in common with. "How was-" Emily cut off when she saw my face, which I'm sure was dark and angry. I couldn't believe that my father was going to accuse Paul of being anything like –. Never mind. Paul wasn't anything like him.

I was ripping through my hair, pulling it back so that it was half up and half down. I had to keep it up if I wanted to keep up with Ari and Paul, but I had learned recently that Paul liked to play with it. He would sit behind me or next to me and fiddle with it. I had noticed him braiding it every once in a while. Something flew at my ear from the door way. I turned to look at him. "_What's wrong?"_ I almost smiled at the sign; the first that I had ever taught him. But I didn't; I just shook my head. He crossed the room and took his place on the bench at the foot of my table. _"Tell me Charlotte."_

"Why can't you call me Charlie like everyone else?" Everyone called me Charlie. My father was the only exception. "My parents are the only ones who call me by my first name and we both know that I don't exactly like them." I wasn't angry at him, I really wasn't. But the carefully crafted dam that held all my emotions had finally burst and I wanted to yell at someone. And there are was something about Paul that made me certain that I would never lose him, no matter how hard I tried.

_"Charlotte, what's wrong?"_

"I tell you that it bothers me and you just keep saying it!"

_"That's not what's really bothering you Charlotte. You're angry about something completely different. Now tell me, please."_

"He thinks that he knows everything and he doesn't. He acts like I haven't thought all of this through, like I haven't thought about how much you could hurt me if you really wanted to." His face darkened and his eyes narrowed as I said that he would hurt me. "My mother doesn't even know how to sign and she thinks that she can just waltz in here and pretend like she's been a parent this entire time. But do you see how quickly she gets bored? And you!" I jabbed a finger in his chest. "Why can't you just call me Charlie like everyone else?"

"Because you're not – everyone." He was shouting, his mouth contorting to accommodate his screams. I just stared at him, waiting for him to realize his mistake. "Sorry; because you're not like everyone else, Charlotte. You're more than just a Charlie. I won't call you the same thing that everyone calls you."

"Then can't you think of something else?" My anger was dwindling and I was starting to feel bad that I had taken it out on Paul. He didn't deserve that. He just smiled and stood from his spot.

"_I'll work on it."_ I smiled and stepped closer to him, allowing his hand to engulf mine. _"Let's get going."_

There tradition was a little crazy but so fun. We were sitting around a small fire on the beach, eating smores and laughing, telling jokes and just being mean to one another in that familiar kind of way. My anger at my dad and the world around me had completely faded now, leaving me I the happy bliss of spending time with two of my favorite people in the world. _"Can we play catch?"_ Ari's eyes lit up with excitement. I waved them on.

"You two play; I want to take a walk."

_"Are you sure? We can play later."_ Ari was standing beside us, walking a good distance away from the two of us with the ball in her hands.

"She's excited, Paul. I'll just be within sight, but I'm not a big catch fan." He sighed and nodded, kissing my forehead and walking away. The truth was, I was pretty good at catch. But Paul being as close as he had been the last few days had made it harder to deny the fact that I was most definitely in love with Paul LaHote, and only after two months. I couldn't let it happen; I couldn't let myself get hurt. But everything in me said that Paul wasn't going to hurt me.

I might have been wrong about that.

His large framed knocked into my, sending us both toppling to ground. It was like a replay of the night that we had met, except this time I was wearing skinny leg jeans instead of a dress. His arms closed around me like a cage and pinned me to his chest as he took the brunt of the fall. Everything around me went still, no more moving, no more spinning. Paul rolled us so I was lying on my back in the sand, Paul leaning over me cautiously. "You okay?" I didn't say anything, captivated by his lips so close to mine. "Lotte, you okay?" I snapped out of my trance, my mind trying to figure out what he had said.

_"Lotte?"_

"It's not Charlotte." He had a point. But that point was lost when his hand came up to brush the stray hairs away from my face. "Don't hate me." What was he –? He pressed his lips against mine, fire engulfing my lips and trails of flames threading their way through my hair. It melted me right out of my frozen state and I did the only natural thing a girl kissing Paul LaHote would do.

I kissed him back.


	23. Chapter XXII

**Author's Note: Okay, here we are. I'm glad that everyone is happy that they finally kissed. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Stupid Jared had been working on Ariana's football skills the last couple of weeks. So much so that she'd learned how to throw the damn ball farther than I was expecting. I sprinted after it, looking up to check on the ball and slammed right into Charlotte. Again.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest. I knew that I could protect here, that I could keep her safe right here in my arms. And I'd use any excuse that I could get to keep her boobs pressed against me. I flipped us over so that she was lying on my chest while I slid across the sand, protecting her delicate form. He came to a halt, Charlotte looking around to try to get her surroundings in place. "You okay?" Normally she at least nods. But not this time. This time she just kept staring at me, her chocolate brown eyes dark and glimmering. "Lotte," I said, thinking on the fly. As long as it wasn't Charlotte, maybe she wouldn't yell at me, "are you okay?"

_"L-O-T-T-E?"_

I shrugged. "It's not Charlotte." There were only so many options with a name like Charlotte, beautiful and perfect as it was. She wasn't Charlie to me; that was too boring and not nearly as excited as she was. No; she wasn't Charlie. But she could be my little Lotte. Her straight black hair fell across her face, covering the eyes that I wanted to stare out for the rest of my life. God I was such a bitch.

But the part of my brain that I had switched off after I'd decided that I wanted her had kicked back in. I had always wondered what it would feel like to have her underneath me, for me to be in control the way that I would like to be, to feel her smooth skin under my hand. I guess I'd have to settle for her face instead of every other part of her body that I was craving. I gathered the silk strands in my hand and pulled them away from her face, watching her eyes darken again. "Don't hate me," I murmured. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, but I didn't give her time to think. I closed the small distance between our lips.

I honestly thought that I was going slow, until Charlotte whimpered deep in her throat. I loosened my hold on her, letting her breathe again. Her little hands wrapped around my neck, thumb nails tickling my hair. I threaded my fingers through her hair, feeling the soft strands wrap around my hands. She pulled me tighter against her face, forcing me to kiss her deeper. I nipped her bottom lip and she gasped and I took the opportunity. "Paul." I could hear Ariana behind me, but I was too focused on what I was doing. "Paulie!" Not the place or time for this. I started to slow and pull away, but Charlotte made a tiny mewling sound that begged me to kiss her again. "Paul! Oh, sorry," Ari said as she came closer. I had to pull away.

Lotte's lips were swollen and pink, her eyes open in a look that had me grinning from ear to ear. "It's fine, Ari," I said, pushing off my imprint and pulling her up with me. Her chest was heaving and splotched with red. I just smiled. It had taken two months, but I had gotten to kiss her. Her fingertips were resting against her lips, like she couldn't believe what they had just been through. Things had been different between me and Charlotte since that day that she'd gotten sick. I don't know what I had been expecting when I found out that she was deaf, but it certainly wasn't her sense of humor or determination to do things her own way without anyone's help. No, I hadn't been expecting to get this lucky.

There was something that she hadn't told me yet; at least not in great detail. It was something that she mentioned in passing over and over again about someone who had hurt her before; a boy. I wanted to know, I wanted to find the dick that had hurt her and rip his heart out of his chest so that we could check and see if it was black. Who could fucking hurt her? She was sweet and kind and good and didn't deserve the shit storm that she'd had thrown at him.

The sight of her cheek, puffy and pink with that little raised cut would probably live in my memory for the rest of my life. It was like the first time that I had seen Ari's face go pale from a bloody nose. Getting her to Sam and Emily's, where she smiled and laughed more, where she came out of that shell that she was hiding behind was the best decision that I had ever made. I was able to be around her more, eat dinner with her and Ari. Ariana was doing great. There had been no more episodes since I'd brought her back and she loved Charlotte. This imprint was the best thing that had happened to me and my sister.

_"Why don't we make popcorn?"_ I suggested after living in my own little world for a little too long. Both girls nodded and began to march towards our little fire, hands flying and laughter drifting.

_"You coming slow poke,"_ Charlotte teased, her eyes lighting up a little. My eyes fell to her skinny legs jeans and drove their way up the curvy plains of her body before landing on her still swollen mouth. As if she could sense my gaze, she licked her lips and narrowed her eyes.

_"Coming Lotte,"_ I replied. Her eyes brightened as she saw my fingerspelling. At least she liked that name. Her little freak out had me a little confused at first, but then I thought about something.

Ariana always yelled at me when she was mad at something or someone else. I had asked her once what the fuck her problem was. Okay, so I used nicer words with my baby sister, but the question was still there. She'd told me that she knew that I would love her no matter how much she screamed at me, so she felt like she could yell at me no matter what was going on. So I had to hope that was how Lotte felt, like she could scream and shout and curse and I would stand right there next to her. Because that was what I wanted to be for her.

I looked up to find Ariana shoved behind Charlotte, much like she had been the day that Victoria had come after them. That fucking ginger leech had been so close to Charlotte; hell I could smell the reeking stench of fear. But she looked so calm and collected and she turned to my baby sister and told her to run for the house, that she would be there soon. She could have died and she was still looking out for Ari. "Just leave her alone, Catherine," Ari screamed.

Catherine? What the hell was she doing here? "Stay out of the brat." Charlotte stood up a little straighter, her eyes narrowed in a dare. "What? What are you going to do about it? You know you're just his charity case. All of us know that. You can't possibly think that you mean something to him," she continued . Charlotte's chin tilted up a notch, her hands keeping Ari behind her. "You can't even talk back and defend yourself."

"What are you doing here?" I growled. Charlotte's shoulders stooped a little when I came into view, the sight filling me with glee. She felt safer when I was around. Good; that was good. That was exactly what I wanted her to feel with me around.

"Why are you here with a brat and a cripple?" Catherine spat at me.

"She's not a brat and she's not a cripple," I ground out, pulling both of my girls behind me, out of Catherine's striking range.

"It's been two and a half months since we've fooled around Paul," she whined. How had I ever thought that she was attractive? I mean, she wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a bad looking girl. But now that I was actually looking at her, her hair was the wrong color brown and its little wave wasn't appealing at all. Her eyes were just too far apart and her lips were a completely different shade. "Don't you miss it?"

"No." She balked like she hadn't been expecting that answer from me. "Now why don't you go find someone else to fuck, Catherine? I'm busy with other stuff right now." She turned on her sandaled heal and marched away with anger. Charlotte looked a little concerned, but she didn't say anything about Catherine and her appearance here. She undoubtedly knew about my reputation. Never had I hated it as much as I did now.

I told the legend as best as I remembered the, noticing that Charlotte was hanging on every word that I said. Ariana leaned back against Lotte's chest, snuggling into her. Charlotte wrapped her arms around my baby sister's shoulder in a very sisterly manner, resting her chin on Ari's curly head. I watched both of their eyes droop as the darkness climbed in. Ariana's head flopped against Charlotte's arm, the older girl's cheek resting against my sister's cheek. I stopped talking and signing then, just watching them.

A twig snapped behind me. I jumped over to them and wrapped them both in my arms, protecting them from whoever was coming towards us. Sam stepped forward, hands held up in surrender. "It's just me, Paul. I was worried about you guys."

"Sorry; we got caught up," I said, nodding towards the girls.

Sam laughed and dropped down in the sand beside us. "You know, Paul, it's time you thought about telling her. She's around it too much for her not to know." I sighed.

He was right.


	24. Chapter XXIII

**Author's Note: I'm really sorry that this is up so late. I have finals and floor meetings at the dorms that just mess with my entire schedule. Anyways, enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXIII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I hand't seen or spoken to Charlotte much in the last few weeks. And I was starting to get restless. Worse than restless, really. I was agitated and angry all the time. Ariana was doing well and while there was a part of my brain that knew that I should be thankful for that, I was still fucking pissed. This newborn army that was coming was a threat to everything that I held dear. Fuck it if something was going to happen to my pack, my mate, or my family. Even Dad was included in that shit.

"Paul." I rolled my eyes and turned to find my father behind me. "What are you doing here?" he slurred.

"I live here, Dad. A better question would be: where is your daughter?"

"She's a fucking brat," he grumbled. "Drove your mother out of here." I didn't say anything, just grabbed the envelopes that were on the filthy coffee table. Bills, bills, and more bills.

"So, she's not here?" Where would Ariana be?

"Not fucking here. Just like your mother. Just another bitch to leave when things get tough," he continued. I just handed him another beer. Killing his liver would kill him sooner, right. "Went with some other bitch. Didn't say a fucking word."

Charlotte? Things had been changing since the kiss. Lotte, who had taken to the name thank God, was more than willing to sit in my lap, to hang out with the boys from the comfort of my arms. But I had never brought her to my home. I didn't need her to see it. She didn't need to know what life was really like for me. Even if her mother and father had been assholes, they had provided everything for her. When was the last time she'd had to sell drugs to keep the house afloat? All that money to get Ariana a new kidney only to watch it dwindle away so that I could pay the bills. And I was getting low. Question still here: how did Charlotte know where I lived?

I could only think of a few places that Charlotte would take Ari. I ignored the rest of my idiot father's drunken remarks and sprinted to Sam and Emily's, but they weren't there. Where the hell could they be? I darted to the beach, to the cliffs, through the forests in search of the clearing that we'd found one day. But there was no success. This was all my fucking fault.

I had been too vague with them. I had told them that they had to be on the Rez as much as possible, but I didn't tell them anything more. They probably assumed that I was just being overprotective. They couldn't have left. They wouldn't have left. How would they even get off the Rez? Charlotte didn't have a car and outside of her bike, which had mysteriously broken a few weeks ago, I had never seen her drive.

Then again, my imprint was full of hidden talents that I knew nothing about. What if she could drive? Shit; I should have been more clear. When I was yelling at Ariana, she would listen to me. She knew that it wasn't a good thing to disobey me. Now that I was going fucking soft, they thought that they didn't have to listen to me. Oh for the love of God! This was why I yelled. People who are afraid listen better.

I was essentially running a patrol route, getting as close to the borders as I could. I couldn't smell them anywhere; I couldn't hear them. Where the fuck are they? And the worst part of all this shit: I couldn't shout for her. Ariana would hear me, but it would never happen for Charlotte. Why the fuck couldn't I get an imprint that was stripper or some shit? Why did I have to get someone with problems?

Ari's lilting laughter carried from the road side of the border. They had left the Rez? See, people who are afraid listen. If I had made it perfectly clear that they weren't allowed to leave, then they wouldn't have left. Who gives a fuck it they were a little afraid? At least then they would be safe. I followed the smells that were beginning to swirl until I could see their car. Emily's car? She could fucking drive. Why did that not surprise me? The girl was a bottle of fireworks.

I followed them all the way to Sam and Emily's, watching them from the tree line. They smiled, laughed, giggled. Just acting like girls. I phased out and pulled my shorts on, sprinting to their sides. "Where the hell have you two been?" I shouted. Ariana turned around immediately. Charlotte took a moment. "Didn't I say something along the lines of stay on the fucking Rez?" Charlotte frowned, trying desperately to understand me. "So, where did you go? What was so important that you thought you should just leave without telling me?"

"We just went out for a girls' day, Paul. Charlie asked Emily. She said that it was fine as long as we were back by four," Ari said, her voice quiet and fearful. Good; she should be afraid. There were things out there that could kill her. They weren't safe outside of this Rez.

"Go inside, Ariana. I need to _talk_ with Charlotte." My sister's face fell, her eyes a little scared. "Go, Ari!" I screamed. She scurried into the house, taking a backwards look at the threshold before going inside. I paced in front of her, the fear welling up in my chest. If I had known where they were going, I could have asked someone to go with them. Leah; yeah, Leah could have gone with them. At least that way they would have been safe. But no; instead I had come within inches of losing them. "What were you doing?" I yelled. She didn't respond, her eyes fixed on my mouth. "Did you really think that you could just leave with my sister without telling me?"

_"Paul, I can't understand you when you scream at me. Calm down, please." _

"No, Charlotte. You took my sister into danger!"

_"Paul, please."_

"No! What was I supposed to do if something happened to her? If something happened to you!" She narrowed her eyes, again pleading with me to calm down and talk with her. She couldn't understand me while I was screaming. But I had a point. What if something had happened to her? Happened to them?

_"If you're just going to shout at me, then you can fuck off, Paul."_ She'd never said those things to me. _"It does no good to be mad at me while I can't understand why. I thought that it might be nice for your sister to have a day to herself. She needed a day like this; we both did. I told Emily that I was leaving because I couldn't get a hold of you. I'm sorry if I did the wrong thing. I was just trying to help your sister."_

"And you took her off the Rez. What was the one thing that I said? I said that you needed to stay on the Rez!" I screamed.

_"Whatever you're saying is lost on me. And the fact that you're so angry at me is only scaring me. So decide what you want, Paul. I'm going to Penn's."_ She turned and walked away from me, but the wolf in me wasn't letting her go. I pulled her around and into my arms, crashing my lips down on hers in desperation.

She was taken aback for a moment, her lips frozen against mine. She kissed me back for a brief second and then shoved me away. Thankfully, she didn't push me away. Just stared up at me with questions in her eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered, making sure my mouth formed each syllable correctly. "I was scared that I was going to lose you two. There are dangerous things out there, Lotte. And the thought of something happening to you or to Ari..." I didn't finished.

Her little fingers came up to my cheek, electricity coursing through me. Every nerve ending was on fire. _"I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought that we could use a day to get out of here. Ari was saying that she hand't been feeling well again and I thought getting out might be the thing to help her. I didn't mean to scare you, Paul. I'm sorry."_

I pulled her tight to me again so that I could hold her against my chest. I was purring with satisfaction, glad that she was here in my arms and safe. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you two," I whispered. With her cheek against my chest, she didn't respond. Unable to hear, unable to see, unable to understand. But she patted my chest next to my heart and hummed a little bit. "I'm glad that you two are getting closer," I continued. "But it's not safe for you two out there."

I wasn't upset that she couldn't hear me now. No; I'd just have to learn to control my temper. Ha! Wouldn't the guys laugh if they could hear me now.

Ariana appeared in the doorway of the house, her lip tucked between her teeth. I motioned her towards us. She rushed over, crashing into me and Charlotte. "I'm sorry that I scared you," I told her. She burrowed her head against my side, looking up at Lotte, who smiled down at her. "I was just worried about you two."

"You worry too much, Paulie."

Not this time. I needed to protect them. I needed to keep them safe.


	25. Chapter XXIV

**Author's Note: I don't really have much to say except enjoy! Let me know what you think. I love it all. Even the constructive criticism. It's what helps me want to do better.**

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**Chapter XXIV**

I had taken to hanging out with Ariana more and more. Whatever Paul had going on at work was taking all of his time away from us. We didn't really say anything, not since he'd blown up at us a few days ago. Who knew trying to do something nice would backfire on me? At the end of the day, though, he'd come back and hugged me and kissed me and apologized. Ari and I sat on the tops of the cliffs, feet dangling over the edge just enough that it sent shivers of adrenaline over us.

_"Paul's not mad at us, right?" _

_"Why would you even ask that Ari? Oh course he's not mad at us. We just worried him. Now we know that we should have told him about what we were planning."_ Ari nodded. Her sign language had gotten so much better since we had started hanging out more. I never thought that she would learn as quickly as she did. She never had to speak anymore. We signed all the time.

_"I just worry about him. He was really upset the other day."_

_"He'll be fine, Ari. We just have to remember that he's doing it because he wants to keep us safe."_

_"Because he loves us."_ I just nodded. Oh the have the innocence that even a thirteen-year-old has. She didn't worry about saying the wrong thing or offending me. Who knew how Paul felt about me? He didn't say anything.

Paul dropped down beside me, startling me. I jumped a mile high. If Paul hand't wrapped his arm around my shoulders, there's a strong possibility that I could have been swimming by the rocks. Or speared on them. _"How are my girls today?"_ Paul had some big smile on his face, like he was excited to see us again. He leaned over to kiss Ari's head and then to get my cheek. _"You guys do anything fun?"_

_"Not really; we're not allowed off the Rez."_

_"Ariana, stop it."_ She looked at me with sad eyes. I know that she wanted to go out somewhere that wasn't La Push. But Paul had asked us to stay right here. _"We had plenty of fun. Ari buried me in the sand."_

"You should've seen her Paul. She was only lips and a nose!" The younger girl tossed her head back in laughter, her signs dropping as her mouth moved a mile a minute. I rested my head against Paul's shoulder, watching the sun shine on the water. Who knows how long I was sitting there, but I was happy right where I was sitting. A warm hand wrapped around my jaw and pulled it up. _"Did you have fun today?" _

I nodded, glancing at Ari who was sitting behind Paul, staring down at Paul's phone. Paul smiled and pressed his lips to mine quickly. His hands fell from my face. _"I missed you today." _

"You did?"

_"Of course I did, Lotte. I wish that I could spend more time with you and Ari. I wish that I could spend more time with you."_ His lips pressed against mine against, quickly and chastely. _"Let's go get dinner." _

Paul huddled me into his side while Ari ran in front of us as we made out way to Sam and Emily's. Dinner was its normal ordeal. Paul had a a huge mound of foot that he managed to eat before either Ari or I had finished ours. Ari and I hung out in the kitchen with Emily doing the dishes. I could see Paul and Sam on the front porch, agitation visible on both of their faces. Ari took herself off the living room, tired after hanging out all day. She laid herself down on the couch, falling asleep with in moments. "She can just stay here tonight." I liked Emily; she was so easy going about things. I nodded and smiled. Maybe Paul would stay too. I bit my lip at the thought of him actually getting to hang out with me. It hand't been that way in so long.

The door flew open, vibrating the entire wall as it hit. "Paul, you can't just do this. You have to tell her!"

"It's my decisions - make! You - take - choice - me." What were they talking about? Paul's hand wrapped around mine. "Is Ariana asleep?" I nodded, my eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure out what was going on around me. _"Let's go."_

"Go where?" He didn't reply. He tugged on my hand and pulled me out the door without a backwards glance. "Paul, what about Ari?"

_"She'll be fine." _What was going on here? I hand't seen Paul this agitated since Ari and I left La Push without telling him. "He - thinks - you - tell. Like - know - !" I tried to tell him that I couldn't understand him, but he didn't seem to be talking to me. Paul suddenly turned around, shoving me behind him. I tried to get next to him, but he kept pushing me back.

"She needs to know how dangerous it is." Paul's chest vibrated as he made his reply. "So I assume then that you don't care about her? What kind of imprint are you?" What was he talking about? Paul began shaking, a sign that I had come to associate with his temper. I placed my hand on his arm, on the part of him that was within my reach. "She deserves to know the truth. But I see now that you're too selfish to let her know." Paul's shaking increased, despite the proximity. Normally me holding him would keep him from losing his temper. "You're just like your father."

Paul shoved me back, sending me to the ground instantly. I felt the stinging in my arm that had long since healed. His shaking continued, getting worse until I couldn't see him. He was nothing more than a blur in front of me. It was like everything happened in slow motion then. His body was starting to contort, the seams of his shirt stretching to accommodate the space. And all at once, Paul was gone.

In his place was a blue-silver wolf, baring his teeth and snapping at Sam. The shreds of Paul's clothes lie around me, little wisps. I could feel my breath coming in short gasps, my head spinning. I closed my eyes and bit my lip, trying to calm myself. I was surrounded by warmth, rough hairs tickling at my cheeks. A solid black wolf stood across from the silver one that was now standing over me. What the hell was happening? I was trembling, fear radiating off of me.

Both animals had their teeth exposed, the warning evident on their faces. I was sure that they were growling or snarling. They seemed to be communicating without me knowing. It was probably the sound. Story of my life; it's always the sounds that I can't hear that make a difference. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening to me. This couldn't be real.

Just as quickly as it had started, the fight that they seemed to be having was over. Both beasts ran away from me and into the forest. Sam came back and crouched down beside me. "Are you okay?" I shook my head. "Paul will be right back here to talk to you, Charlie. Everything is okay."

"Nothing about that was okay." Nothing. What the hell was this?

Sam patted my arm and stood, walking back to the house. Something hard flew to the back of my neck. I wheeled around to see a shirtless Paul standing just beyond the trees. He smiled at me but I couldn't return it. He jogged towards me but I just crawled away from him. Instantly he stopped, a look of pure hurt crossing his face. _"Charlotte, please let me explain."_ I shook my head. _"Please; it's not what you think."_

"Then what is it Paul? Because I can't explain any of that!"

_"It's the legends, Lotte. All of those legends that you love so much; they're real. I'm not a bad guy."_

"But you're not the guy I thought you were, Paul. You lied to me. You told me that you weren't keeping secrets from me." How could he do this? "Everyone was right. You lied to me. You kept this from me."

_"I wasn't keeping it from me. I was trying to figure out how to tell you about this. There are a lot of things that I need to tell you."_

He took another step forward, but I just stumbled back. "You lied to me. You are just like _him._" He looked so hut that it almost broke my resolve. But I had been down this road before and I wasn't going down it again. "I'm going to stay at Penny's." I swallowed hard. This was what I had been afraid of. I was losing my mind. I had done the one thing that I never wanted to do again. I had let myself be vulnerable again. "Just - just leave me alone Paul. Just don't." I brushed passed him, running into the forest and heading to Penny's.

He didn't follow me; I checked. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I knocked on Penny's door, waiting for her answer. _"What did he do?"_ She didn't even have to ask who it was or why I was crying. This would be the only reason why.

"You were right, Penny. Again."


	26. Chapter XXV

**Author's Note: Okay, so there are no italics in the dialogue today because everything is signed. I hope that helps a little. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXV**

"So you didn't really give him a chance to explain?" We were sitting on her couch, holding tightly to the cups of hot chocolate. I hadn't told her about Paul and the wolf and the legends. After all, who would believe me? But what was there for him to explain? He had lied to me. I was shocked that the legends were real, but I had seen it with my own eyes. How was I supposed to deny what was clearly the truth? So, no I wasn't mad that he was a wolf.

I couldn't believe that he had lied to me. Why not just tell me? Or at least tell me that there wasn't something that you couldn't tell me yet, something that you wanted to tell me someday. But no; Paul had told me that there was nothing that he was hiding from me. "Explain what, Penny? He lied to me. I asked him if there was anything that I needed to know and he lied. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've only ever met his sister. He wouldn't even tell me where he lived for Christ's sake! He's been hiding thing from the very beginning and I just couldn't make myself see it. You were right; he's a bad guy."

Penn's hands rested in her lap as she thought about my words. She had to be sitting there relishing in the fact that I had admitted that she was right. I'm sure it was something that she never thought that she was going to see my sign... ever. "How could I have been so stupid? All the signs were there. I mean, he's was exactly what everyone said that he was. He was just a player."

I looked up to find Penny shaking her head at me in sadness. "What's with the look?" She took my mug from my hands and set it down on the table.

"You know, you said that you didn't care about the things that he had done in the past; that you were going to judge him for the Paul that you knew and not the Paul that everyone else said he was. You said that you wanted to give him a chance to explain himself. But when things got hard, you did the exact opposite of that." I frowned at her. I didn't need to give him a chance to explain himself. He had lied. What more was there to it?

"So I judged Paul for the things that everyone knew about him. But you didn't want to do that. And the first time that your faith was shaken, that he didn't probe to be as perfect as you thought he was, you judged him for it. You pretended like you didn't care about his past but you were secretly waiting for a chance to pounce on him."

"You don't know anything Penny!" She was my cousin. She was supposed to sit here with me and tell me that I was right because I was right.

"I do, though. I know that the other one hurt you and that you were afraid that this would happen again. But you didn't even give yourself a chance, Charlie. Sure, you let him get to know you and all that shit, but you were always waiting for it to go wrong. You were always afraid. And you know what? Paul LaHote is nothing like what everyone said about him. He's nothing like that because I've seen him with you. Charlie, you didn't even give him a chance to explain. At least I judged him but was willing to listen to him with you, to see how he acted. Behaving the way you did just makes you a hypocrite."

"I am _not_ a hypocrite!" That was one thing that I prided myself on. I tried my hardest not to judge people unless they gave me a reason to distrust them. And that was what Paul had done.

"You are, Charlie. You wanted me to keep from judging him until I knew what he was about, but he does one thing that isn't perfect and you start judging him without knowing anything about it. I don't know what he did or why you think that you can't trust him anymore, but it's not like you were willing to listen to what he had to say about it."

She was right; as much as I didn't want to admit it. I hand't been willing to listen to Paul. He'd lied to me. But I didn't even give him a chance to explain. In fact, I'd said things to him that would hurt him because I wanted to spite him, because I wanted him to feel like shit; to feel how I felt when I found out that he wasn't what he said he was. "I was wrong about LaHote, Charlie. But I'm right about this. Go talk to him and see what he has to say. Or prove that you're a hypocrite. Either way, I win."

"It's late, Penny. He'll be -"

"Awake and angry and pissed and hoping that he can find a way to explain to you. Stop making excuses and get your ass over there. I didn't find out where he lived for nothing, did I?" I shook my head and sighed. Why would it so difficult to admit when you were wrong?

"Thanks, Penny." I hugged her to my chest.

"Get going. And report to me tomorrow morning. I want to hear about it." I nodded and pulled my little jacket back up my arms and sprinted towards the LaHote house that I wasn't supposed to know about. I needed to know all of these things before I could forgive him. I knew so much about Paul and Ari but he'd been so secretive about his mother and father. Why? What was he hiding.

The front porch lights were on, but the house was dark. Maybe he had gone back to Sam and Emily's? How could I show my face there after the things I had said? Sam would probably assume that I wanted nothing to do with the wolves? How had I betrayed the people that had taken me in? Penny was right; I was a hypocrite. I narrowed my eyes, determined to fix that. The setting sun cast shadows on the grass, one of which looked very unlike a tree. Paul.

I circled the house to the backyard, stepping over the short fence that surrounded it. Stooping to pick up a little pebble, I searched for him. I probably should've prepared myself for what it was going to feel like to look at him. He was shirtless, but that wasn't a surprise. His muscles flexed and twitched as he stood a log on the chopping stump and swung down, tossing the wood to the side. Chopping firewood in the middle of summer? I waited until he had cut a few more pieces and my face wasn't heated with blatant desire to toss the pebble. It hit his ear and he turned around, throwing the ax down to land blade down in the stump.

"What are you doing here?" His face was dark, angry, guarded. And it was my fault that the beautiful smile that I was used to seeing from him were gone.

"I was hoping we could talk." There was a spark in his eyes, but it was quickly snuffed out.

"There's nothing to talk about Charlotte. You made yourself clear earlier." He bent down to pick up the ax. "I understood."

"No, Paul, please; let me talk to you. Please." He didn't say anything back. "Look, let me talk to you and explain. And after that, if you want me to leave and never talk to you, I'll do that. But please just give me a chance to explain."

He turned to face me completely, crossing his arms over his rather impressive chest. He nodded, like he was expecting me to continue. Why didn't I plan anything to say to him? Oh, right; I was more focused on getting to whole story from him. But now it was my turn to give him the whole story. It was the only way that he would understand why she had reacted the way she had. "I'm sorry that I ran away from you. I didn't mean the things that I had said. I was - I was just surprised Paul. How was I supposed to guess that the legends were real? It was just a surprise, you know? I didn't think that it was possible and then you changed -"

"Phased."

"Fine, phased. I just, I didn't know how to react and the first thing that hit me was that you had lied to me. You told me that you didn't have secrets but that was a pretty fucking big secret Paul. And the I ran away from you and sat down to think about it. I don't know anything about your mother or your father. I know that Ari is sick and in the hospital a lot, but I don't know anything about why. I had to have Penny tell me where you live, Paul. I just... I thought that maybe there was more that you were hiding from me." I dropped my hands, fidgeting with my nails as I waited impatiently for his reaction.

"I wasn't trying to hide things from you, Charlotte." I just wanted to see his nickname for me in his signs. When he'd first said it, I thought it was stupid. But it had grown on me and it was something that only Paul called me. "I was going to tell you about the wolves; I was just waited for the right time. And you never asked about my parents. I assumed that it was important or that Ariana had explained them." I hung my head, slightly ashamed. I should've asked him. Paul didn't just give up information freely. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Charlotte. I get it, though. I'll leave you alone."

He turned away, starting towards the back door. I jumped forward, grabbing his sweaty arm and pulled him back to me. "I don't want you to leave me alone." He narrowed his eyes, obviously confused. "There's something that I need to tell you about, Paul."

Here goes everything.


	27. Chapter XXVI

**Author's Note: Please let me know what you think! I hope it lives up to my usual standard! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXVI:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

_"What are you doing here?" _I hadn't been expecting to see her again. She'd made herself quite clear after I'd told her about the wolves. She thought that we were monsters, that we were nothing she could trust. And how could I convince her of anything else? She had been right there behind me after I had phased. And when I turned back to look at her, she looked more frightened than Ryanne had been when I'd attacked her that one day ages ago.

_"I was hoping we could talk." _Her hands fell to her sides as soon as she finished. She wanted to talk? No; I couldn't hope. She would only want to tell me why she ran and ask me to stay away from her.

So instead of hoping, I signed, _"There's nothing to talk about Charlotte. You made yourself clear earlier." _I grabbed hold of the ax that I had been using to chop wood and stood up to my full height. _"I understood."_ In more way than one. It couldn't be easy to know that the guy that you had come to know was actually not a man.

_"No, Paul. Please. Let me talk to you. Please."_ If I listened to her, it would only make it harder to tell Ariana that she couldn't be around the only person that she had come to love. That I had come to love. _"Look, let me talk to you and explain and after that, if you want me to leave and never talk to you, I'll do that. But please just give me a chance to explain."_

Why would _I_ not want to see her again? I would never want that. She was the one who was scared, the one who ran away from me. I would always want her around. But I couldn't tell her about that. I couldn't overload her. She would only run away again. So I crossed my arms and looked at her, waiting for her to finish telling me. She looked so nervous and fearful, much like she had the first night that I had met her. It took her a moment to start. _"I'm sorry that I ran away from you. I didn't mean the things that I said. I was... I was just surprised Paul."_ Of course she was surprised. Who wouldn't be. _"How was I supposed to guess that the legends were real?"_ No one was supposed to guess, they were just supposed to be stories that we told to make people feel safer. _"It was just a surprise, you know. I didn't think that it was possible and then you changed -"_

_"P-H-A-S-E-D."_

_"Fine, phased."_ She'd replaced my fingerspelling with a sign that I was going to have to learn. _"I just - I didn't know how to react and the first thing that hit me was that you had lied to me."_ I had never meant to lie to her. I _was_ going to tell her; I just wasn't sure how. _"You told me that you didn't have secrets but that was a pretty fucking big secret, Paul. And then I ran away from you and sat down to think about it."_ She'd been thinking about this? She hadn't told anyone, had she?

_"I don't know anything about your mother or your father. I know that Ari is sick and in the hospital a lot, but I don't know anything about why. I had to have Penny tell me where you live, Paul."_ Well that would explain how she figured that out. Penn was just a meddlesome thing._ "I just, I thought that maybe there was more that you were hiding from me."_

I wasn't trying to hide things from her. I told her as much, explaining my logic. She spoke so much with my sister that I assumed Ariana had told her things. _"I wasn't trying to hurt you, Charlotte. I get it, though. I'll leave you alone."_ A wolf was supposed to be whatever his imprint wanted. And she had told me to leave her alone.

A little hand grabbed hold of my arm, slipping a little, but maintaining her hold. _"I don't want you to leave me alone."_ Then what the hell _did_ she want! She'd told me that she didn't trust me. I had hid so much from her without even trying. I hurt her and she _didn't_ want me to ignore her? _"There's something that I need to tell you about Paul."_ I was all ears... Or I guess eyes. She was fidgeting, her fingers picking at the underside of her other nails. She bit down on her bottom lip and looked away from me.

With her eyes fixed on the chopping stump that I had been using, her hands began to move. _"I was fourteen-years-old. It was two years after my accident. My dad begged me to keep swimming, to see if I would get better. There was a new lifeguard there. Daniel."_ This was what she had been hiding? What did she do? She had sex with him? She'd gotten pregnant? No, Lotte didn't seem the type. _"Most of the lifeguards ignored me. I had been going to the swimming pool for years. They knew that I wasn't going to drown. Dad thinks it was for that reason that I almost did drown when I hit my head."_ Why hadn't people been doing their jobs? Would her health be any different if someone had gotten to her before?

_"Dan was different. He talked to me, said hi to me. He acted like I was just a normal person. In all honesty, he's the reason that I learned to read lips as well as I do. He didn't want to learn how to sign and looking back now, I can't really remember the reason that he gave me. But he never learned."_ Why would you hang out with someone and be unwilling to speak to them in their own language?

_"We used to talk and hang out at the pool after I was finished working out. My father realized that I was kind of seeing someone. So he started coming to get me later and later. It was nice to feel normal, you know?"_ I just nodded. _"Dan - - He asked me if I would go to his prom with him.I had read about school dances and seen them in movies, but I had never been. And from what I understood, prom was supposed to be the most important of all dances." _I nodded again to confirm her words.

_"He told met hat he would meet me at the swimming pool and four for the prom."_ She still hadn't look at me. Now she was licking her lips and trying not to let her lip quiver. _"My dad went through all the motions except for scaring the prom date. He found me the greatest dress and the best hairdresser and makeup people. I didn't even look like myself. I was so excited, glad to be normal and going to a real dance."_ This couldn't end well. Just the way that she was telling it made me think the worst.

_"Dan showed up almost an hour later and with friends."_ She swallowed hard finally looked at me. She wasn't crying, didn't look upset. Her eyes shined with sadness though, something that burned m to my very core. _"It turns out it was all a prank or a dare or something. One of the sick, twisted things that you only hear about in movies, you know? He told me that he would never like a girl like me. I was nothing more than a game to them. I guess all the guys had asked out girls that were pathetic. I was the only one who was humiliated at the prom so I guess I have that to be thankful for." _

I was shaking with anger and disbelief. How could someone have done this to her? I mean, even on my worst of days I couldn't imagine doing something like that to someone. I was fighting the urge to phase when her last signs cut through my heart. _"Dan wasn't the person that I thought he was."_

"And neither am I." That was why it had hurt her so deeply. She'd been lied to before. Someone had hurt the sweetest person in the entire world for nothing more than sport, to prove to his friends that he was better at humiliating people than they were. I watched her nod after I'd said the words. "Oh, Lotte, I'm so sorry."

I saw a tiny spark I her eyes as my lips for the name that I only used. _"You have nothing to be sorry for, Paul. I should have let you explain. I should have listened. And I'm sorry that I didn't. I just - - In so many ways the things that you did were like Dan."_ I was nothing like that cretan. _"Not in the sense that you are anything like him in the way you act, but in the way you made me feel. With you I was just Charlotte. I wasn't deaf or hearing. You treated me like anyone else. And then you weren't the person that I thought you were. But I know the legends Paul and I know that I was wrong." _What was she saying? She wasn't wrong. I wan't the man that she thought that I was. _"I'm so sorry, Paul."_

I watched in horror as tears slipped down her cheeks. _"I don't want you to leave me alone. I don't. I want you to tell me everything because you're not like him. I was wrong and a hypocrite and I'm so sorry." _She took in a shaky breath.

For only the third time, I kissed her. But it wasn't like the last when the wolf had taken over or the first when I was worried about how she would react. No, this time I was trying to tell her how much I loved her without having to say or sign the words. My father had said them and my mother had left regardless. I wouldn't be anything like him. So I twined the downy soft strings of her hair around my hand and kissed her softly and gently like I had never kissed anyone before.

And the message she was sending back was clear. She loved me too.


	28. Chapter XXVII

**Author's Note: Okay, here we go. I hope that you all enjoy. And again I just want to thank you for the reviews and follows. They really make my day.**

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**Chapter XXVII**

Paul's lips moved soft and sure against mine, like he had all the time in the world to kiss me. If he asked, I'd give it to him. His rough hands squeezed lightly at the back of my neck, massaging the skin with his strong fingers. With one arm wrapped around my waist and another large hand that managed to encompass all of my head, Paul tugged me closer. Like a limp noodle, I left my hands lying on his chest. But it didn't seem to matter to him. He was kissing me unlike anything I had ever done before, holding me tight against his chest.

I never wanted to move from where I was at this moment. Slowly he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, kissing the tip of my nose lightly. Both hands were buried in my hair now. His breath washed over me, sweet and warm, in deep pants that proved just how much he had enjoyed what we'd done. I kept my eyes closed, afraid of what I might show him. I was so vulnerable, more than I wanted to be. His thumbs swiped under my eyes again and again until I finally opened them.

Paul was looking down at me with such pure, unfiltered adoration that I didn't know how to respond to it. He blinked, but it didn't disappear. "I'm sorry that you felt like I was lying to you," he said, his chest vibrating under my hands. "You wouldn't believe how hard it's been for me not to tell you. But I just wanted to keep you safe, Charlotte."

"That's why you wouldn't let me and Ari off the Rez." He nodded. It made sense now. The legends said that they wolves had made a treaty with the Cold Ones. There were probably tons of provisions and shit. Paul nodded, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"I can't protect you two when you're not on the Reservation. And there are dangerous things out there, Lotte." The night that I had snuck out suddenly came back to me. Paul had freaked out and yelled at me, telling me that I had to get back to the house. There were dangerous things in the forest.

"Vampires?"

He pulled away, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out a sign that he had never seen before. Hell, I had rarely ever used it. _"I don't understand."_ I fingerspelled, watching the instantaneous change in him. His jaw went hard and his eyes died, a hard anger steel taking their place. _"Yes the vampires. I need to keep you safe, Lotte. You and Ari cannot leave the Rez. You have to tell me where you're going. I have to know that you're safe." _I nodded, wanting to know more about this all.

"Will you tell me more, Paul? Like, everything?" He smiled a little and tucked me against his side. I was safely wrapped in his arms, but still able to look up at him. "I want to know."

"I know you do Lotte and I will tell you. But it's been a long day. You're tired and I have to go on patrol in the morning." I cocked my head to the side. "I'll explain that all to you tomorrow, okay? You and me, no one else. You and me will go for a walk tomorrow and I'll tell you everything." I nodded; I could wait a little while longer to find out everything. So long as I got to find everything out. "I'll take you home."

He linked arms with me and pulled me along. We reached the forest, veering towards the path that would lead me home. But there was one thing that I wanted to see. I had reacted poorly when he'd _phased_ earlier, but I still realized that Paul's wolf was utterly stunning. And now that I knew what was going to happen, I wanted to see it; to see him. I stopped in a denser part of the forest, pulling Paul with me. _"What's wrong?"_

"Can I see it, Paul?"

He frowned at me. _"What do you want to see, Lotte?"_

"The wolf. Can I see it?" His eyes went wide as his brain processed each sign. It was the trick to speaking with someone that hadn't been raised in sign language. There were certain times that it took him a little longer to understand what I was saying. But as soon as he did, he was shaking his head hard and fast.

"No. Absolutely not; you'll just get scared and run. No." I wasn't going to get scared. I just wanted to see him, to see the side of him that I had ran from. Paul didn't deserve that.

"Please, Paul. I just want to see." He just kept telling me no. "Please Paul, I promise I won't run away." He looked hesitant for a moment and I saw my opening. "I won't run away from you. I know what is going to happen now. Please Paul; I want to see you."

_"If I show you, you'll let it go for the night, right? We can talk about everything tomorrow?"_ I nodded vigorously. _"Fine; stay here. I'll be right back."_ I nodded again and watched him taken off to the darker part of the woods. I wasn't afraid to be out here alone. I had never been. And especially knowing that Paul was right there, even if I couldn't see him, made it easier to sit in the grass and wait.

The leaves in front of me ruffled. It wasn't the wind, it was more. I narrowed my brows and watched as a blue-silver muzzle poked out of the leaves. Paul. He took a tentative step forward until he was half in the forest, half visible. And then he wasn't moving at all. The eyes that I knew so well looked back at me with fear. I took another step forward, hand extended in front of me like I had been taught to approach dogs I didn't know. He cocked his head to the side and stared at me with skepticism. I stopped moving. "I'm not scared of you."

I took another step forward. And another. And another; until the palm of my hand was only inches away from his nose. I left it there, not willing to move the rest of the way. Paul would have to do that.

His cold, wet nose tapped my hand; it was all the permission that I needed. I slid my hands up his nose to the spot just above his eyes. I guess it would've been his forehead. I reached forward slowly with the other hand and scratched behind his ear. He rolled his head with my hand, his tongue flopping out of the side of his mouth. I pulled my hands away and smiled. "You know what's nice about this?" His giant head shook. "I can say whatever I want and you can't talk back."

He leveled me with a look that clearly said he was not amused. "Like I could tell you that, when you're a wolf, you're kind of beautiful." His eyes narrowed a little as he took in my words again. "I could say that you have got to be the most stubborn man that I have ever met! But you know what I will never tell you? All the dirty little secrets Ari has told me."He lunged slowly, slow enough that I saw him coming. I turned and started to run, but teeth wrapped around my shirt lightly and pulled me down to the ground.

I'm sure I squealed or something; I felt my chest vibrate. But then I was pinned to the ground, warmth all around me. The soft hairs of his undercoat tickled against my chest and cheeks. His nose touched mine, his eyes narrowed. He licked my cheek lightly, not in a gross way. I smiled and laughed at him, lifting my hands so that they were in front of my face. "It's not so easy when you can't talk, is it?" He growled, his chest vibrating against my belly. He licked my cheek again and stood off me, nodding towards the place that he had disappeared to before. I nodded and watched him take off to the trees.

It didn't take very long before he was back, his jean shorts just barely pulled up all the way. "I told you I wouldn't be scared." He smiled and strode closer, pulling me tight to his chest. "What do you guys do? You know, as wolves."

_"We had a deal. I would show you and you wouldn't ask anymore questions tonight. Remember?"_ I frowned. _"Let's get you back home."_ He led me towards the house quickly and silently, not offering another word. We were at Sam and Emily's all too soon for my liking, Paul stoping us on the porch. _"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" _No; not okay. I had messed up, had done wrong. I wanted him to stay here, with me.

"Do you think Sam and Emily would mind too much if you stayed with me tonight?" And the I realized what I was saying, that I was making it sound like it wasn't his choice. "If you want to. I don't want you to think that you have to or that you don't have a choice. I -"

He wrapped his hands around my wrists and pulled them down. "Let's go inside, okay?" I nodded and let him lead me to the room that I had been using as my own for the last few weeks. "I'm going to go check on Ariana. I'll be back." I had seen the pink tinge that told me why he was really leaving me. I nodded and waited until he had left to quickly throw my pajamas on, sitting on the bed and waiting.

It wasn't very long before Paul was back, no longer wearing jeans but basketball shorts. _"Is everything okay?"_ I nodded and pushed myself back on the bed. Paul came and sat next to me, my cheeks on fire. _"If you want me to leave -"_

I leaned over and pressed my mouth to his hungrily. His mouth vibrated against mine as he groaned, rolling on top of me. His hands were hot in my hair, his lips like liquid fire. I kissed him back with everything that I had, licking his bottom lip and feeling his tongue slide into my own mouth. And with another groan, he was gone. "Not now." The words were a little had to make out. "Not like this. Lay down, Lotte. Go to sleep." He rolled me off of him and onto my side, pulling me snug against his chest. He began humming his little lullaby, the sound reverberating against my back. So I relaxed and drifted off the sleep, a silver wolf visiting me in my dreams.


	29. Chapter XXVIII

**Author's Note: Okay everyone here goes part one of all the important information! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXVIII**

There was an insistent vibration against my back that was strange, but nice and comforting. More comforting was the well-muscled arm that was wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me back against a solid... something. I turned, trying to see exactly what was holding me so tight. Whatever it was blew a warm puff of air against my neck. The arm that was slung over my stomach tightened, pulling me closer. The limb slipped underneath my shirt, stinging me with a warmth that could only belong to one person. Paul.

I rested my head back against his chest, feeling the arm around me release. He liked it better when I was relaxing in his arms. Fine by me; I liked it better when he was holding me like he loved me and not like I was going to disappear. I slid one of the arms that was pinned beneath his hold free. Carefully, so as not to wake him, I began tracing the muscles that I could define in his forearm, zigzagging to create patterns with the hair. I could feel Paul stirring behind me, but I couldn't bring myself to stop fussing with his arms.

Just touching him sent my brain into a frenzy. It was wrong and weird and at the same time oh so normal. The sunlight was streaming through the window in front of me. Paul's skin tone was just a hair darker than my own. Or maybe that was just his hair. Either way, the sun brought out the lighter, honey tones in his skin. I trailed my nails lightly over the skin, tracing the rays from the sun on his skin.

He shivered against me and jumped awake. The arm around my waist constricted as he pinned me underneath him. A growl vibrated from his chest while his eyes opened wide and darted around the room in search of anything dangerous. And then his gorgeous dark eyes found my face. He visibly relaxed and smiled, slipping off of me and rolling onto one side, taking me with him. His face was only a few inches from mine, that grin still on his face. "Good morning." I just smiled.

Not for the first time, I wished that I could at least mouth back to him. I would have to talk to Emily, to see if she could help me. But for the moment, there was nothing I could do but smile back and enjoy the fact that I had woken up with Paul LaHote in my bed. He tossed an arm over my waist, pressing on the space between my shoulder blades. "Did you sleep well?" I nodded vigorously, trying to tell that it was the best sleep I'd ever gotten. I jerked my head towards him. "I slept like a baby." I smiled, glad to hear that he was happy that he had stayed. "At least, until some imp was scratching at my arm. Scared the shit out of me. I thought something was coming to get you."

I managed to get one hand free. "Me, not you?"

"Always you, Lotte." His hand pressed into my back again until I was lying with my nose against his chest. His chin came down to rest on my head. I guess that was all the conversation that we were going to have for the next little while. He was saying something to me, something that I would never be able to hear. He did that a lot. He would hold me and say things. I could feel his chest moving and vibrating, but I couldn't hear it. I pulled away and sat up on the bed.

"If I told you that I didn't want to hear, that I knew for a fact that I didn't want that operation, what would you say?" I needed to know. It was a truth, a reality. I didn't want to hear. I was happy just the way I was. But if it would make Paul happy, I could do it. I could get the implant and be normal.

_"I don't care."_ He paused and I frowned. Did he really just _not care?_ It was a life altering decision. _"It's not that I don't care about you, Lotte. I do. I care a lot. But I don't want you to think you have to get the surgery for me. You do what you want to do. I'll be here either way." _

"So if I were to tell you that I don't want the operation, that I don't want to do this at all?" I left it blank, letting him fill in the rest.

_"I'd tell you that you are beautiful and smart and funny and caring."_ He pressed a kiss to the spot on the base of my neck._"That you are perfect just the way you are. That if you want the implant than you should get it. If you don't, I don't care. It won't make me like you any less."_ Leave it to Paul to say the right thing all the time.

He moved from his spot next to me to sit behind me, knees on either side of me. He pulled me back until I was against his chest again. He wrapped his arms around either side of me. _"Let's go downstairs."_

"What about our walk?" I wanted to know. I wanted him to tell me everything that I didn't know yet. I felt his body shake, his chest shuddering. He was... laughing at me.

_"We'll talk." _He tapped my chin instead of his own. _"After we eat."_ I laughed but let him pull me off the bed.

Ari was awake and sitting at the kitchen table when Paul and I walked down the stairs. Her eyes widened as she realized that we'd been up there together. "Where have you two been?" She looked angry that we had been up there and she hadn't known.

"Drop it Ariana." Wisely, Ari listened to her brother. We talked about the upcoming school dance that she wanted to go to. I listened to Paul grumble that she was too damn young to be going to any school dance. Emily and Sam talked about things that I didn't really pay attention to.

"But why can't I go Paul? I want to go."

"We're not talking about this, Ariana." Oh Paul and his decisions. He never would listen to anyone else. Emily asked Ari to help her with dishes then, taking the girl off of our hands for a little while longer. _"You ready for that walk?"_

I nodded eagerly, darting upstairs to change my sleep shorts to sweatpants. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a smile on his face. I grabbed his hand in mine and followed him out the door. He shouted something behind his back and kept tugging me out the door. Pretty soon, we were on the beach, dropping our shoes in the sand and just walking. _"I know that you have a lot of questions, Lotte. So I want you to tell me what you want to do. Do you want me to tell you things and then you can ask questions? Or do you just want to ask me questions?" _

"Both?" He laughed, jumping lithely onto a few of the boulders that sat on the beach. He crouched and reached for me. His long arms grabbed under my arms and lifted me to his spot like I was a feather. "How about you tell me what you think is important and I will ask you what I want to know about?"

_"Okay. I - uh ... You know the legends right?"_ I nodded. _"We're the wolves that the legends are about. Well, kind of. All of us are related to Taha Aki in someway. When the vampires came back into town, it triggered that pat of us. We protect people, Lotte. We take shifts and run patrol to make sure that nothing crosses into our territory."_

"So that's where you go when you tell me and Ari that you're busy?" He nodded. I chewed over his words in my head, replaying all his signs. "Who are the vampires? You said that they came back? Who are they?"

"The Cullens." The way his lips curved around his teeth t o form the words gave testament to his hatred of the family. I had never met them, never really had much interaction with them. Well, other than the doctor. "You have to promise me that you'll never go talk to them. They're dangerous, Lotte."

"Aren't they the ones who made the treaty with the wolves?" He nodded. "So they're not dangerous then."

_"They are Lotte. Whether they're _**_good_**_ vampires or _**_bad_**_ vampires, they're still vampires. They still want to drink you dry and they are still dangerous. Promise me, Lotte."_ I nodded. _"Say it please."_

"I promise, Paul." He nodded now, glad that I had signed the words. "What could cross over here that is so dangerous?"

_"Vampires. They travel around to find people to eat. We stop them the second they get on our land. We protect our people." _

"So all the legends are true?" He nodded. "Even the one about Taha Aki and his third wife?"

"Oh God, here we go. Charlotte, you have to promise me that you won't run away and that you'll talk to me." I told him that I wasn't going to leave him again. I knew that I was wrong about what I had done before. "Please, Lotte."

"Paul I'm not leaving." He seemed to stare at me for a little while, as if he was trying to decide whether I was telling him the truth or not.

"Taha Aki had a Third Wife that he loved more than any other. He loved her because he was her imprint."


	30. Chapter XXIX

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank everyone that reviewed. I really love reading them. I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint; it was broken into two, so I'm sorry if it feels like it just stops. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXIX:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Why couldn't Sam have just let me tell her in my own time? I just wanted to find the right way to say it to her. I wanted to explain things to her. Sam had taken that from me. I was only glad that she had come back and was willing to listen. Waking up with her wrapped in my arms had been one of the greatest feelings that I'd ever felt. I wanted that feeling every morning.

And I was about to ruin it all by telling her about the imprint. _"What's an I-M-P-R-I-N-T?"_ Her signs were so swift and clean, but there was a part of me that wanted to tell her that I didn't understand. If nothing else, just to be able to hold off on telling her the truth. But Lotte would know that I was lying to her and she would wait for me to tell her.

"It's like a soulmate for us wolves. We take one look and the wolf in us knows that we're supposed to be with that person," I replied. She frowned while her brain tried to process the words.

_"Does every wolf find their soulmate?"_ I wanted to tell her no, that it was a rare thing. But looking at our Pack, it was easy to see that it was more common than we thought. There was Sam, Jared, Jake, Quil, Leah, and me. There were only a few of them left and I had a feeling that it would happen to them too. And me, being the one who fought against this the most, was the one that thought that it was good for us.

"Not every wolf does," I finally admitted. "It's supposed to be rare, but it's a little more common in our Pack."

_"Pack?"_

"All the guys that you've met at Sam and Emily's. We're all warriors, Charlotte," I explained. She looked a little confused at my words and then her eyes opened wide as realization hit her.

_"You guys were the wolves that were there when that redhead saw me on the beach? And the one that I saw when I was with Penny?" _I nodded. _"That redhead, Paul... Who was she?"_

"I don't care about her name," I snarled. "She could be the queen of England. She was a vampire who has a nasty habit of coming after the people that have been around us." Her eyes narrowed a little and then anger exploded in her eyes, flames dancing around the milk chocolate.

_"If it's so dangerous for me to be around you." _I didn't want to let her finish. I knew what she was going to say. Why would I put her life in danger? If I knew that it could kill her, why would I ever put her in danger?_ "Why wouldn't you tell me about it earlier?"_

"This is the important part, I guess. I couldn't just not - - Wait, did you ask me why I _didn't_ tell you?" Did the girl just have to surprise me at every turn?

_"I would've have understood why you were being so crazy about me and Ari if you had told me."_

_"I was not crazy!"_ I countered. She tossed her back ad let out a loud laugh.

_"You were insane, Paul. You nearly tore my head off that one day." _I flinched; I hadn't meant to do that to her. I was just worried. _"Don't start, Paul. I know that you didn't mean to scare me. All I'm saying is, if I had known about this then I wouldn't have left with Ariana. I would have been able to understand why you were so angry at me."_

"I was never angry at you; I was just worried about what could've happened to you and Ari. You don't understand how important you guys are for me, Charlotte. I can't even thinking about losing you two," I admitted. I had to tell her; there was no going back. She knew everything except the most important thing now. "Lotte... I imprinted on someone." She nodded, like she had been expecting it. She looked away from me, like she had the night that she'd told me about the dick that'd fucked with her heart. She - - She didn't think that... _"Oh, no, Lotte, look at me. Please." _I rested my fingers underneath her chin and forced her back to me. _"That came out wrong."_ Leave it to me to mess up those words too. _"Charlotte, I imprinted on you."_

Her mouth fell open like it was the last thing that she was expecting to hear... Or I guess see from me. I could hear her heartbeat pick up, her breathing coming in ragged gasps. _"It can't be. That's supposed to be true love, you know for the good people. No one falls in love with a deaf girl. I can't even -"_

"Slow down," I begged, trying to figure out all her signs as well as get her to calm down and look at me. "Charlotte, calm down."

_"You can't have imprinted on me, Paul. It's not possible. It's only for good people."_ She was really being stubborn about this.

"What do you mean good people?" She was probably the best person that I had ever met. She was caring to a fault and ready to give up everything to save someone. I had seen it with Ariana, where she would put my little sister behind her to protect her from anything. "Lotte, what do you mean 'good'?"

_"Good people; people who aren't broken. I can't _**_hear_**_, Paul! Besides that surgery, there is nothing I can do to hear. I'm not the kind of girl who is supposed to be an imprint or whatever. You should be with someone that's perfect for you, someone that can be there for you and Ariana. I can't be that Paul. The people that love me don't want me. Look at my parents! My mother walked out on me because I can't hear and my father avoided me as much as possible. I'm not the person that is supposed to be your imprint, Paul."_ Was she being serious? She was beyond perfect.

Where was I going to find another girl who would put up with my snoring? I knew that I snored louder than a fog horn; Ariana had made sure that I was well aware of this. She was not above waking me up and teasing me about it. But Charlotte didn't mind. She just slept against me like there was no sounds around her. And I guess that she couldn't. But that didn't make her a bad person! And her parents were hardly an example of people in her life. But I didn't know how to tell her that she was wrong. I'd have to try, though. I needed her to understand.

_"Charlotte, you have got to be kidding me. I don't want anyone else; I want you. You're the one who taught me that you have to look at people. The imprint makes us better wolves, better people. Our imprints make us whole. You are everything that I'm not, Lotte. You may not hear what people have to say, but I can do that. What I can't do is see people the way you do. You have a way of seeing people differently _**_because_**_ you can't hear. And who cares what your parents have to say or what they did. The way that I care about you is completely different than what they did. And I will never leave you, Lotte. I will _**_never_**_ leave you." _I hoped that I got all the signs right, that she got my message. There were three words that I needed to say, three words that would make her understand exactly how I felt. I opened my mouth...

But nothing came. I couldn't do it. _"Come back with me, Lotte. Please. I promise you that you are a good person and you are the person that I'm supposed to be with. You're beyond perfect. You're great with my sister and my friends. You're strong and funny and just amazing, Lotte. Don't doubt this. Don't do how much -"_ I couldn't bring myself to say it. It was like a hand wrapped around my heart and refused to let go. I couldn't say those three damn words. My father had said it to my mother and look at where it had gotten him. I would never leave her and never hurt her... But she could do it to me. She could decide that she'd had enough of the wolves. She could decide that I was more trouble than I was worth. She could die. I would never do those things to her. But I couldn't leave myself vulnerable like that.

I pulled her close to me instead, hoping that she would understand what I was trying to say. She rested her head on my chest and smiled up at me. "You have to believe me, Charlotte. I don't know what I'd do without you believing me," I whispered. She sighed heavily, biting down on her lip. "Please, Lotte."

She laughed a little and pulled her hands up in from of her face. _"I believe you, Paul."_ I smiled and bent do to kiss her, feeling her little fingers against my neck as she reached up on tiptoes to return my embrace. She pulled away after several long moments, taking my lip with her until I was down on her level. _"Just promise me that you'll stay safe and I'll be right here forever."_

I guess it was time to explain to her what exactly was going on with the Cullens and the newborns right now. I sighed. "I think there's something else I should tell you." Did I have to ruin the moment? She had accepted the imprint, accepted my love without knowing it. But I had to tell her this so that she would understand. "There's something coming, Lotte."

_"What are you talking about?"_


	31. Chapter XXX

**Author's Note: Okay, here we are ladies and gentlemen. I believe I announced this on my other story, but not on this one. If you are interested in an Embry story, please be on the look out for ****_Down to Nothing_**** which I hope to have up sometime in the next week. Also, I will be traveling this weekend. So when I have finalized my plans, I will let you guys know what's going to happen with the chapters. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXX**

A vampire _army_ was more than just something. He couldn't, or wouldn't, tell me very much about what was going on. He only explained that his Pack, who incidentally, were all the guys that I had met and come to know as an extended family, were fighting to keep Ryanne, who was an imprint just like me, safe. There was an army of new vampires coming after them. That's why he was so busy lately. He'd been running patrol during the day and training with his Pack and the Cullens during the night.

The Cullens were vampires as well, but they had a treaty with the wolves. I nodded, remembering this part of the legends. It was rumored that it had been the Cullens, but most of the kids that knew the legends just wrote it off as a story because of how pale the family was. "Paul, does Ari know about this?" She had never given any indication that she knew why Paul acted the way he did. She'd told me once that it had gotten worse about a year ago, that his overprotectiveness kicked into overdrive all of the sudden. But she never sounded like she knew why.

_"No; I haven't told her anything and you can't, Lotte. She can't know unless she's an imprint or a wolf. If I have anything to say about it, she'll never be either of those."_ I frowned a little. Did Paul not want the imprint? A moment ago, he'd made it sound like he wanted me to stay by his side for the rest of his life.

"Would it be such a bad thing for her to become an imprint?"

Paul sighed heavily and looked at me. _"Yes and no; when I first imprinted I didn't want it."_ I'm sure that my face fell a little. _"Not because of you, Lotte. I didn't want it because I was afraid that the poor girl who was stuck with me wouldn't want me. You deserve better Charlotte, and I know that. But there are other things that I worry about. Like what if you don't want me and it's just the imprint that makes you think that you do? What if I took your choice away without really trying? I don't want that for Ari if it's not what she wants."_

"But what if it is what she wants? I know that this is what I want, Paul. I want the imprint. I've never had anyone care about me the way that you do." He smiled, his entire face softening with the little smirk. "But whether you want to accept it or not, Ariana is growing up. You can't keep hiding her from the world. I know that she's sick. I may not know what's wrong but -"

_"My mother didn't want another kid."_ I frowned. What did that have to do with what I was saying? _"She barely wanted me to start with. But by the time that she was pregnant with Ariana, she was finished with our little family all together. She drank, she smoke,she did almost everything but have an abortion. She didn't believe in that. Dad didn't fight her; he just wanted her to stay with him. He loved her, you know?"_ I nodded. _"Ari was born with bad kidneys. As she's gotten older, it's gotten worse. There are some other things that come along with it. She has anemia and asthma. One day, when I can afford it, she'll need a kidney transplant. In the mean time, she's on, uh,_ dialysis._" _I nodded, understanding.

"Why don't you give her a kidney?"

_"I'm not a match. I would if I could."_ It was like seeing a whole different side of Paul. I was so used to him being in control, being able to fix everything. He always had a solution. He'd taken me away from my dad, found me another place to live, taken care of my wrist when I'd gotten hurt. It was hard to see him like this, helpless and with a little twinge of fear in his eyes. _"It'd be better for you to hear this from me than from anyone else, Lotte."_ He sighed, his chest moving with the motion. _"I was a bad guy for a long time. I sold drugs for a while. See, after my mother left, my dad got into drinking. He hasn't been the same left. I took on responsibility for Ariana, trying to keep her safe and raise her better than what I had gotten. My dad would go to work and earn a check, but he spent it all on alcohol. Ari had medicine that she needed and we were going to lose the house. I didn't see another option._

_"When Charlie Swan told me that they thought I might be a part of it, I decided to stop. I was just trying to keep us going and make enough money to get Ari a kidney. Even if the donor list comes through, it'll still be another seventy thousand dollars that I can't afford. We just keep waiting. Every few months, one of the kids that she knows from the hospital will get the new organ that they need. It's hard to watch her sit and wait, you know?"_

I didn't know what it felt like to be the only person that was responsible for a family. _"I don't bring you around my dad because he's a bad guy. I try to keep Ari as far away from him as possible. It wasn't that I was trying to keep a secret from you. I was trying to keep him away from you. He drinks and hits and says things he doesn't mean. Or, maybe he does mean them. I don't know. And I thought that Ariana would have told you about her illness and about my mom. You're the first person that she's had around in a while and I know that she loves you."_

"You can try to keep the people that you care about safe, Paul, but don't do to her what my dad did to me. It's not fair to her. If you keep her locked in that house, she'll start to hate you for it. You have to think about her and let her grow up." This was one area of life where I knew what I was talking about. I knew what it felt like to be cooped up for so long that you felt like you were going to explode. It's why Ari wanted to leave the Rez so much. I reached a hand up to Paul's face, feeling the muscles under my fingers twitch.

"What would you have me do, Lotte?" He looked a little angry, but not at me. I knew that it wasn't at me. "I don't know what to do here." I smiled. He trusted me enough to ask for my help. He trusted me at all.

"Let her do something, Paul. Let her volunteer at the hospital. Let her join a sport. Let her join a book club. Give her somewhere to go that isn't school, the hospital, or home. She needs an escape, Paul." He sighed, drawing me close, his breath whispering over the top of my head as he spoke.

"You're a good listener, you know that?" I laughed and leaned back into his arms. We stood there for a little while. I was processing all the new information that my brain had been overloaded with while Paul stood undoubtedly thinking about what to do with Ariana. I had someone that was going to be by my side for the rest of my life. There was a part of me that worried about what he'd said earlier, about not wanting an imprint. But hearing about his past, the things that he had done to protect his sister and keep his family afloat, I understood why he wouldn't want another burden.

He held me away from him them, looking down at my face. "The newborns are going to be here and we're going to fight. What I need from you is to promise me that you will stay at the Rez and with one of the wolves at all time. I can't lose you and Ariana, Lotte. I just can't. And when the day of the battle comes, I need you to stay at the house with all the other imprints, okay?"

I nodded. "There will be a wolf or two there to take care of you guys. But you have to stay safe, Lotte. No matter what happens, you have to be safe."

"If you can promise me the same, it's a deal." He smiled and pressed his lips to y forehead like a promise. "We should get back." He nodded, taking my hand in his and leading me... towards the cliffs.

"You want to go?" He pointed up to where some of the guys that I now recognized were jumping off. It wasn't high, only about ten feet. I used to jump off of triple that. But I hadn't; not since my injury. I shook my head. "It'll be fun."

"My head, Paul. I haven't jumped off of anything higher than a springboard since then. And I have't done a dive that has me landing on my head in ages."

"No one said anything about you landing on your head. I'll be right there with you. I know you want to." There was that teasing smirk again. Was my desire to jump really that clear? "Come on, I'll hold your hand. Anything goes wrong, I'll take care of you. I'm super strong, remember?"

I knew that Paul wouldn't actually let anything happen to me. He'd protected me from everything bad in my life. So slowly, I nodded. Paul beamed and started jogging towards the cliffs, dragging me behind him. "You're really excited about this, aren't you?" He just smiled in reply. Embry and Quil greeted us as we made our way to the face of the cliff.

"You ready to jump?" At least, I think that's what Quil said. He was the only one who had yet to learn that I could read lips better when he spoke normal.

"Dude, she's deaf not dumb." I laughed at Embry's remark. "Let's go." He turned and leapt, avoiding the rocks that were lingering down below. What was I doing? If something went wrong, there was a chance that I could die. Quil went next, jumping out farther than Embry and forming his body into a sloppy dive before hitting the water.

"You ready?"

"Paul, I don't know if this is a good idea."

"You know that I would never let anything hurt you, right?" I nodded. "Then trust me. I wouldn't let you do this if I thought that you couldn't or that you would get hurt. You said yourself, you used to love diving off those high platforms. This is smaller than any of that. You'll be fine." Paul would protect me. Paul would protect me. I chanted the words over and over in my head. "Trust me."

He took my hand in his again and pulled me to the side of the cliff. Out of habit, I stood on my toes on the edge, preparing like I would for a dive. Paul used his opposite hand to count off.

I bent my knees and leapt with him.


	32. Chapter XXXI

**Author's Note: Okay, so I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry if we're getting a little dry, but we're almost to the action so just hang in there with me. Thanks!**

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**Chapter XXXI**

The next few weeks were ridiculously hectic. Paul was almost never around and when he was, he was exhausted and ended up crashing on the couch. Ariana and I had gotten her into tennis, which I knew nothing about. But it did what I had hoped, which was to give Ari a place to go that wasn't home or school. She couldn't run very far yet, but in the last three weeks, she had gotten much better. She had never offered an explanation to her illness and I never asked. I knew what was wrong and that was all that really mattered. Ari could tell me if she wanted.

Unbeknownst to Paul, Emily had started me with speech therapy. It was something that she had always wanted to go to school for, but never had enough time for. And there were two phrases that I had been working extra hard on. I needed to tell him before the battle. But I wasn't good enough yet. No matter how much Emily encouraged me and told me that it was perfect, it wasn't. I had to say it _without_ sounding deaf. If I did it right, Paul might actually kiss me again. It had been too long since he'd done that. So everyday, Ariana went to tennis practice and Emily and I sat down. She would repeat the words again and again until I could mouth them correctly. From there, it was getting my throat muscles to make the right sounds.

I was sitting up, writing in the journal that I had always kept and trying to think about tomorrow's lesson with Emily when a light flashed in my room. I looked up, but there was nothing. I waited a few moments, surprised when a red light did flash again. I scurried over to the window, surprised to find Paul standing outside. He pointed up to the window and then waved to the left. I backed up and stepped aside, wishing that I would get to see how exactly he managed to do this.

But he was suddenly in my room and smiling down at me. "Hey." I cocked my head to the side and looked at the dark circles that were beginning to form, turning the skin underneath his eyes ashy instead of it's usual warm tones. "What's wrong?"

"You look tired." I reached up and traced the circles with the tip of my nail. "You should be sleeping, not sneaking into my room."

_"You want me to leave?"_ I shook my head and he laughed. _"Everything okay?"_

"Yeah, I just miss you. I feel like I don't get to see enough of you right now. How's the training going?" I asked him, pulling him back to the bed. He laid himself down on the covers, resting his head against one of my many pillows.

_"Fine; we're just ready for this to be over. That's kind of why I'm here."_ I sat up a little straighter and looked over at him._ "The battle is going to be in two days. I won't be able to be around while we get ready."_ I nodded. This was the same that I had heard for the last few weeks. He wanted to be around more but he couldn't. I understood; I really did. I didn't like it. But Paul had to do what he felt was necessary to protect his friends and family. _"I was thinking that maybe I could sneak in here at night? It's hard for me not to be around you, Lotte. I don't want us to get sick because I've been busy." _

I had forgotten about the imprint withdraw and the things that could happen. I had never invited a boy to come and spend the night with me, but Paul couldn't be sick going into this battle. What if I said no? What would happen to him then? He would get sick. And then he would go off to fight and probably get hurt. Or worse. He had shared my bed with me before and nothing that I wasn't ready for had happened. So I nodded, worried about what would happen to him if I said no.

I leaned back into the bed, my back to Paul and my eyes closed. Having him near me did make me feel better. And I was pretty sure that everything was felt much stronger on his end. My soul wanted to be with him, but his wolf soul and his human soul wanted to be with me. A hand wrapped around my entire waist and flipped me over so that I was facing his chest. Warm fingers pulled my gaze to his, staying firmly wrapped around my chin even after I was looking into his dark chocolate eyes. "If you don't want me here, I can leave." He looked so forlorn about it that I was almost afraid to tell him what I was really thinking. "I felt your nerves, Lotte. That's the bad part about the imprint bond. We can't really lie to each other."

I took a deep breath and brought my hands to the small space between us. "I've never done anything beyond kissing, Paul. I know that you've changed and everything, but I also know that you _know_ what you're doing in that department. Paul I have -"

A large, warm, and calloused hand slid over my hands and pinned them to the mattress. "I'm not asking for sex, Charlotte. I'll wait for that forever if you need to me to. I'm just asking about being able to sit here and hold you, to literally _sleep_ with you. And as far as my knowledge, I've never had sex with someone that I care about like I care about you. So everything that I know is out the window." I licked my lips, feeling him shift his fingers until his fingers were twined between mine. "I don't need sex until you're ready. I just need to hold you, that's all."

He rolled on his back, pulling me with him. I was lying on my side, one arm pinned between us. My other arm rested on his waist, anchoring me to him. He reached out to grab my bicep in his hand, his thumbs touching but not quite overlapping. I tilted my chin up to look at him. "Good night, Lotte." I was too comfortable to sign back, so I just laid my head back on the hollow between his shoulder and his chest. And I drifted off to a comfortable sleep.

Paul came up to my room the next two nights. If Sam and Emily knew, they didn't say anything. I was pretty sure that they did, but they also knew the importance of an imprint. But today was the day that I was dreading. Today was the day that he had to go to this stupid fight. I guess it wasn't stupid; it was for the protection of a girl that I had come to think of as a friend. Well, and her sister. But I didn't know much about Bella Swan so I didn't really care what happened there.

I knew that it was wrong of me to say. When I had told Paul he'd only told me that I was right in saying it. None of the wolves around me actually seemed to care about Bella. In fact, I could go so far as to say that they hated her. Paul insisted that he wasn't doing this to save her, that it didn't matter to him one way or another. But Ryanne was like a sister to him and he wouldn't have her in danger. Which left me sitting on the front porch, waiting for him to say goodbye to me.

_"Ari is going to stay at a friends tonight."_ I nodded. At least she would be safe on the Rez. As much as I was worried about Ariana, who knew that something was up, I was glad that it would be just imprints at home. It would make it easier for us. We could talk about the things that were actually going on without worrying about spilling secrets. _"I'll be back later tonight."_ I just nodded again. _"Will you please say something."_

"I don't know what to say, Paul. I'm worried and it won't change until this is over with so don't even try to make me feel better." I looked down as soon as I finished the last sign, not willing to look at him.

_"We've bee practicing for this for weeks, Lotte. Nothing is going to happen to any of us."_ He could be as insistent as he wanted, I wasn't going to to back down from this. I was just going to sit here and worry about him until I could have him back home with me. _"I'll be home before you even have time to miss me." _

"It'd be better if it was before _you_ had time to miss _me._"

"I don't think anything happens that quickly." He chuckled and pulled me into his side. _"I told Ari to text you if she needs anything so just keep your phone on you, okay?"_ It was little comments like _that_ that made me believe that he loved me. He was trusting me with his sister. He didn't trust anyone with Ari. It had been almost four months now since I had met Paul and I knew without a shout of a doubt that I loved him. _"I'll be back, okay?"_ I nodded. Paul leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead. He was so worried about pushing me too far. But right now, what I wanted to do was to kiss him goodbye. "I'll see you real soon. Stay safe."

He pushed off the railing of the porch and started marching towards the forest line. I swallowed hard, hearing my heart hammering in my chest. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Paul!" I wasn't sure if it came out as clearly as it did in my head, but he turned around and stared at me in disbelief for a full minute before he marched up to the porch again.

"Did you just -" I put my hand over his mouth. I had to get this out before he left. He had to know.

"I love you," I said in what I hoped was a quiet whisper that he could hear. I watched his eyes open wide and his jaw go slack in the brief second before I was chest to chest and his mouth was burning against mine. "You should get going," I continued, watching the sparkle in his eyes dance with every sound that I hoped I made. "I'll see you tonight."

There was a part of me that realized that he hadn't said the words back. But what could I expect from Paul LaHote? His mother had left him because she didn't love him enough to stay. That was bound to leave scars somewhere. He pulled me back into his arms and kissed me again, his hands in my hair and down my back. _"I will be home as soon as I can. You have some explaining to do." _Still didn't say the words. _"Stay safe, Lotte."_ I guess those three words would have to do for now.


	33. Chapter XXXII

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's up a little later than I would like, but I got called in to work tonight. Chapters a little long. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXXII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I had barely seen my imprint and my sister in the past few weeks. The truth that was hard for me to admit was that it was driving me crazy. I liked getting to see my girls, to know that they were safe. But lately, it had only been a few fleeting moments here and there. Which had prompted me to sneak into her room. It'd hurt more than anything else when she'd told me that she felt like she didn't get to see me enough. This wasn't what it was supposed to be like. We were supposed to be getting to know each other better, acclimating to life with her knowing about the imprint and the wolves.

But as I talked about sleeping in her room with her and she'd silently agreed, I felt the tension in her, like she wasn't quite sure about what she was saying yes to. _"I've never done anything beyond kissing, Paul."_ What did that have to do with anything? _"I know that you've changed and everything, but I also know that you know what you're doing in that department."_ She thought I was talking about sex. I didn't want sex from her.

I mean, I did. I wanted to do a million different things that no one should ever _think_ about with her. But I didn't want to do those things with her until she wanted to do them. _"Paul, I have -"_

I pulled her close and explained that I didn't want sex. I would be lying if I said that there wasn't a little thrill that went through me when she explained that she was still a virgin. I would be her one and only. I had one other partner in my life and I didn't love Catherine in any way, shape or form. She was just the person that I used to get the first time other with. And Catherine was anything but a virgin.

For the next two nights, I made it a point not to pressure her in the next few nights before the battle. I held her and kissed her and tried to let her know how cherished she was, but not that I wanted to have sex or anything more than just cuddling with her. God knows that it was the hardest things that I had ever done. I had kept my kissing her to a minimum, trying to show here that I didn't necessarily need that from her. But not having her that way was killing me, slowly.

_"I told Ari to text you if she needs anything so just keep your phone on you, okay?" _She beamed up at me and nodded. _"I'll be back, okay?"_ She nodded again, this time a little more somber. I kissed the frown lines on her forehead, feeling them smooth out underneath my lips. "I'll see you real soon. Stay safe." I would pray to any and all gods that she would be safe sitting in the house with the rest of the imprints. Maybe a threat to Brady and Collin would make sure that nothing came after her.

With that thought, I took off to the trees to phase. Just had to find the two dweebs and make sure that nothing came within ten feet of the house. "Paul!" The shout wasn't fearful, but it was loud. But I didn't recognize the voice as anyone that I knew. I turned around and looked for someone who would have shouted my name. But the only person that I found was... Lotte.

No; it couldn't be. She couldn't speak. I knew that she couldn't. But her mouth was open and she was staring at me hopefully, like it _was_ her that had shouted my name. "Did you just -"

Her little hand came up to cover my mouth, her nails tickling my cheek. She looked up at me with such unguarded emotions, I didn't know how to react. "I love you." The words were quiet. I heard them clearly, ringing like a bell in my ear. Her voice was rough from lack of use, but sweet and soft, dripping over me like honey. I didn't even know what to say. I'm sure I looked like some kind fucking idiot, staring at her. I pulled her to me with every intention of hugging her. But the wolf in me growled and crashed my lips down on hers. Everything in me worried that I had taken away all the good things that I had built up with her in the last few days. I was instantly worried that she would take this the wrong way.

But she'd said it. How was I supposed to react? I mean, I knew that I should tell her that I loved her, but I just ... couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to say it, even in the face of the most beautiful girl I had ever met who had _learned_ to speak just to be about to say it. I pulled away to find her smiling a little, biting her lower lip apprehensively. But she didn't look like she was upset. Actually, the sight of her blushed cheeks and slightly swollen lips filled me with a kind of masculine satisfaction because I knew that she was happy. "You should get going," she said. I just watched her mouth form one sweet word after another. "I'll see you tonight."

I wanted to tell her, I really did. I just couldn't. So I pulled her back to me and kissed her again, going slow and gentle this time. I didn't ask for her to let me in this time, just slowly kissed her until she was slack against my chest. I used the weakness to trail one hand down her spine and draw shapes on her scalp. Finally, I pulled away. _"I will be home as soon as I can."_ She nodded, looking a little breathless and dazed. _"You have some explaining to do."_ She just smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. _"Stay safe, Lotte."_ It was the best that I could offer her, unfortunately. She just nodded, smiling a little wider. There was a little sparkle in her eyes, which gave me the hope that I hadn't completely fucked up.

I kissed her again, just a quick, chaste peck on her lips and ran to the forest line then. I phased and followed my brothers into the deepest part of the clearing, avoiding any part of the clearing that the seer witch said the newborns would come to. We didn't want to scare them off before anything actually got started. No, but we did want to kill them. _Calm down, dude,_ Embry said in my head. What did he know? I wasn't in this for the fight anymore.

The me that had existed before the imprint would have said that the fight was the only thing worth living for. Hell, the me that I had been wouldn't have cared about the face that Charlotte had _spoken_. Her mouth had actually let out real words, not just the little sounds that came with her dreams. She had said three words that only Ariana had ever said to me. And Ari... I don't think I had ever told her that I loved her. She knew it in everything that I did. But I could start saying it. Maybe. Probably not. But I would have to try. I had two girls depending on me.

_Focus,_ Sam barked. _Love is great and all, but this isn't the time for it._

_Says the man who fucked up someone else's imprint because he's that selfish,_ Seth coughed. Way to be discreet.

_Shut up, Seth. Now is not the time._

No, it wasn't. We all had something to protect, someone to protect. No was not the time to be dredging up all of Sam's mistakes as Alpha. The list was too long. I heard Seth and Embry sniggering at my comments that I hadn't meant to share. Great, I would probably pay for that one later.

_What'd I miss?_ Jared asked as he loped into view. _The girls are all safe. I checked on them before I threatened to take Collin's dick off if he let anything that he didn't recognize near the house. I don't care if it's a vampire or human. He doesn't recognize the sent, he stops it._

Well that was one less thing that I had to worry about. _Brady is going to run by Ari's friend's and Embry's mom every hour or so and make sure that she's okay too. They've got this guys; calm down,_ Sam said. But we could all feel his worry about Emily and leaving her on the Rez while we went off to fight. None of us were soldiers. But we were Warriors. And this was what we had been built to stop.

The smell of vampire, the sticky sweet bubblegum smell, smacked me in the phase as the first few of the newborns flitted through the trees. The Cullens were standing in the center of the little clearing that had been chosen. I wanted to laugh at the little pixie in her cotton dress. Who the fuck picks an outfit like that to wear to a battle? I shook off the thought and turned my attention back to the only one of the vampires that I could relate to. I didn't bother to learn his name, but he was big and burly and lived for the fight.

As much as I hated him, as much as I wanted to tear his head off, I recognized that he was somewhat like me. We both loved the fight for what it was. But this wasn't a game; not this time. This time we were fighting to protect our families. And while his family _hardly_ counted as anything, mine did. I had a baby sister that I needed to see grow up and an imprint that I was ready to live the rest of my life with. I had much more to protect. "They're coming," the little pixie thing said.

We all took out stances, watching the first of the newborns come through the trees. _Go,_ Sam commanded. He nodded at the lead vamp. We all sprung into action then, leaping towards the threats to everything that we held dear. I sank my fangs into the granite stone neck, on top of what should've been a jugular. It hurt, hearing the girl scream. She hadn't asked for this. She hadn't volunteered to become a part of this world. And I was killing her for something that she had no choice in.

Don't get me wrong, vampires were all monsters. If it was possible for me to travel the world and find them and rip their heads off one by one, I would. But these ones were part of a calculated attack. None of them were asking for this to happen. They were prey that had turned into the predator. There were times, when they were screaming and shouting and screaming, that you could see the prey still there. But it was gone with one look in their blood-red eyes. With that thought, I took the head off of the girl in front of me.

The big leech was struggling to keep his own monstrosity under control. I turned and found the parasite's chest, clamping down on a shoulder and giving the Cullen enough time to rip his head off and toss it in the flames that had already started. I flung the body in with it, wishing that I could just be done with the fighting and get home. Why hadn't I just left Ari with Charlotte? I wanted to check on my baby sister and my imprint at the same time? But Lotte would understand if I was home a little later because I needed to check on Ari. She always understood. I could bring Ari to the house after it was finished and have her on the couch. That way, she'd be in the same house. Jared had already informed us all that he would be spending the night there. Sam had tried to tell him no, but he'd said that I did it often enough that it shouldn't be a problem. Yet another problem I was going to have to deal with after this fight.

Leah's quiet little whine pierced through the night, reminding me that I was fighting. I hadn't really been all that distracted. I still managed to get three down while I was thinking about how I would break away from the Pack and go check on my sister before I went to Sam and Emily's. I could hear Sam in my head, telling Leah that she was finished. But I was too focused on what I was doing with the leech in front of me. The Cullen and I were decapitating as many as possible as quickly as possible.

We all screamed as we saw Jake run straight into a group of newborns, their arms locked around him. The big one that I was fighting with had left me to go help Blondie. I tossed the arm in my mouth at the flames and darted over to Jake's side. Ryanne would kill me if she knew that I didn't help him. I pulled one of them off of him, feeling the thing wrap its arms around my ribs. It squeezed a little, effectively cracking a few of my ribs.

But that was nothing compared to what Jake would have. He had lost consciousness for a few brief moments before he was up and bounding to the place that we had hid Ryanne and the leech lover. I tossed the leech that was on me to Embry, who made quick work. Jared took another. The Cullens had one little girl that was cornered, begging them to let her be one of them. Sam took off to go and help Sam. The doctor kissed his _wife's_ cheek and followed him, saying something or another about Jake's injuries.

There was the stench of burning hair mingled with the smell of burning sugar as the bodies around us burned. And just like that, it was over. The Cullens paired off with their respective people. We wolves stood together in a Pack. It was over.

Now all we needed to do was hear news about Jake.


	34. Chapter XXXIII

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I hope that you all like the last chapter. I wasn't sure because no one really reviewed. But here's the next one; enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXXIII**

There was a part of me that worried about saying the three words before Paul had said them. I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself that he _had_ kissed me. A guy who didn't feel anything wouldn't have kissed me. Right?

I mean, all the movies said that a guy was supposed to say it first. All the stories that I read, all the things that I had heard; I wasn't supposed to say it first, but I had. And I had _actually_ said the words. I couldn't go back on what I had said. I didn't want to. I just wanted Paul to say it back. I laid back on the porch swing, watching Paul disappear farther and farther into the forest. It was three words. Was it really _that_ hard?

I mean, I knew that he had some problems with giving himself up. He didn't like to be vulnerable. The night that he told me about Ari and her illness was the first time that Paul had ever seemed the least bit defenseless. It was hard to see him that way. And those three words were the ones that would leave him the most open. Just like me, he couldn't take them back. So I would have to wait; I would have to be patient. Problem was, patience was one of my virtues. I sighed heavily and pushed the front door open, finding Emily in the kitchen.

_"Hey, how did things go?"_ I just shrugged. _"You're worrying, aren't you?"_

"I always worry when Paul isn't around." It was a hard thing to admit. I had always been able to support myself. Not financially, of course. My father took care of everything that I really needed, but he wasn't around when I needed him. So I learned to get along without needing anyone around. I never needed anyone. Until Paul. I needed him so much it almost hurt. Whenever he wasn't around, I had minor heart attacks. What if something happened to him? I couldn't be there. I couldn't protect him. I would never know if he was okay. One of the guys would have to come and tell me. "It just comes with the territory, huh?"

Emily nodded. _"But I've found that baking helps." _She lifted some batter that she was stirring to show me. _"You want to help?"_ I nodded and rounded the little pillar that marked the entrance to the kitchen. Kim was sitting in their, twiddling her thumbs as she sat on the counter. _"Kim doesn't help; she nearly burned the kitchen down last time."_ Emily's mouth was moving with her hands, telling me that Kim knew what she was saying.

"Emily really likes her kitchen," I said aloud. Kim's mouth fell open as I spoke. She, like pretty much everyone else I knew, had never heard me speak. Emily beamed over at me, silently praising me for my speech. She was the kind of person that a mother should be. She handled my deafness in her stride, helping me however she could. She probably thought I didn't know about the hours that she spent watching videos and tutorials on YouTube. But I did and I was touched.

"Paul told us all that you couldn't speak." Kim was still holding her mouth open in an unladylike manner that would have had my etiquette teacher would have beaten me for. Stupid teacher; my mother's debutante days had inspired my father to find someone to teach me what my mother had prided herself on. That had stopped shortly after I met Paul.

"I'm learning." Emily translated for me so that I didn't make myself too self conscious. There were still certain words that I couldn't pronounce correctly and, being the perfectionist that I am, I couldn't say them until I was sure that I had them flawless.

An unseen force knocked into me, sending me into the island counter. I looked down to find little Claire, by far the strangest of all the imprints. Paul had told me not to be weirded out, not to judge. I honestly tried hard not toI could only hope that Quil would protect her and show her how to be herself like Paul had done for me. I gazed down at her again, her sweet little mouth forming words that I couldn't understand. Kids were always the hardest for me to understand. Kids were still learning and didn't enunciate properly. Between that and their missing teeth, I was lucky to catch a word or two of what they said.

She pulled on the leg of my shorts, pointing at the toys in the counter. _"Play?"_ Emily had taught her simple signs, like the baby sign language that you heard so much about. She couldn't say much, just enough to tell me what she wanted when Emily left me home alone with her. I didn't like being alone with the baby very much. If something went wrong, I couldn't call out for help, I couldn't make a phone call to get help. So when I was stuck alone, I followed Claire around, making sure that she never left my sight.

I could see Nate in the backyard. He was on some of the heavy machinery that Sam had for no real reason. None of the guys had a reason to be lifting. But it was occupying Nate enough. He hadn't said a word to any of us and he sure as hell hadn't looked at any of us. He just went straight out to the backyard. He hadn't even said goodbye to Leah before she left. I wished that there was something I could do to help, but I couldn't. It wasn't my business.

Claire was giving me a royal makeover, knotting my long straight hair and painting my face with Sharpies for all I knew. I really didn't care all that much. She needed someone to occupy her while Emily and Kim distracted each other. We played for a little until Emily suddenly came and announced that it was her bed time. I hadn't even realized that the sun had set and the darkness was swirling around me.

I shoved myself from the ground, kissing Claire's little mop head and wishing her goodnight. Kim and I were sitting on the couch watching old episodes of _Desperate Housewives_ when my phone vibrated._ Hey Charlie... Could you come and get me from Marcie's? I can't stay here,_ Ari had written. I turned to find Kim curled up, nodding off. I sighed, trying not to wake her. I didn't like driving at night.

During the day, driving wasn't a problem for me. But when the darkness set up, the things that I could see became limited and the things that I could hear were nonexistent. Me driving at night was reckless and dangerous. No, I needed someone to drive me. Emily was busy with Claire. Kim was almost asleep. That left... Nate.

He was big and more intimidating than the rest of the Pack. I had never met him before today. Paul said something had happened the first time that Nate had been introduced to the guys, but that was all he would say. But the big guy had something about him that warned me to keep away. Still, I needed to go get Ariana. Paul had trusted me to take care of her and I would be damned if I didn't do that job to perfection. "Hey," I called out loud, suddenly worried about the parts of my speech that weren't clear.

_"You're deaf, right?"_ I was pretty sure that my jaw dropped as his hands moved in front of him.

"You sign?"

He nodded._ "Only a little. Do you need something?"_ He seemed less menacing when he was looking at with bright green eyes with his hands moving in front of me.

"I need a ride to pick up someone. I can't drive." I left it at that, unsure how far his sign went. He reached behind him and grabbed keys, nodding towards the front door. His sweaty palm came to settle over the small of my back in a brotherly way as he guided me towards the front door. He turned his head back, undoubtedly shouting back to Emily that we were leaving before ushering me into his car.

I wrote down instructions to get to Marcie's house, having driven her there once or twice before. As terrible as I felt about it, I texted Ari when we pulled up to the house, too shy to go and knock on the front door like I should have. Paul's baby sister bounded out the house, her eyes rimmed red with tears. "What's wrong?" I had stepped out of the car to let her clamber into the backseat of Nate's two door Jeep.

_"Who's he?"_

"A friend of Leah's. It's fine, Ari. Are you okay?" I climbed into the back with her. She started sobbing the second that I was back there. Her frail little arms wound around my waist and anchored her to me. I hushed her and stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. Nate turned around after a little while. I realized that we were back at Emily's.

"Is she okay?" I nodded, not entirely sure of the answer myself, but knowing that Ari would explain herself until we were alone. "I'll be in the back if you need me. Stay in the car as long as you need." I nodded and mouthed a _thank you_. I was glad that was one thing that I could do now that I was learning how to speak.

I pulled back and looked at the little girl that I thought of as my sister. "What happened, Ari?"

"I was sleeping in Marcie's room on the floor and I had a dream about Paul dying and then I just couldn't go back to sleep. Paul said that he had to work tonight and to call you if I needed anything. I just couldn't sleep there. I couldn't even explain why I wanted to go home. I probably sounded like a toddler." She hiccuped a little, I think. Her chest moved suddenly like mine did when I hiccuped.

"It's fine, Ariana. I'm glad that you called me. You didn't act like a baby; it's okay to want to come home. Come on." I pulled the door open. "Paul isn't going to get hurt." I was trying to assure of it as soon as we were on the grass and I had closed Nate's car door. But I wasn't too sure of the words myself. It made it really hard to tell her that he was going to be okay. It made it really hard to promise her something that wasn't something I _could_ promise her. Paul could get hurt and I couldn't do anything about it. "Paul's coming back here tonight; you can stay here with me and the rest of the girls, okay?"

She nodded and followed me into the house. Emily nodded at me as explained everything and set up a bed for her on the little sofa. We called it a night not much later. It was just fine with everyone that Ari had come over; she was afraid for her brother. She knew that something was up and it had effected her. But the hardest part about her being there was having to keep calm and not worry about our men. Well, and women. Nate really didn't seem all that concerned about Leah; he just kept working out, even when it was dark out and the rest of us were crawling into our beds. I missed Paul sleeping right there next to me, but I closed my eyes and forced myself to lie down and go to sleep.

I was startled awake a little while later by a slight shaking in my bed. At first, my brain and I thought that it was Paul, that he had come back from the fight. But I opened my eyes to find a crying Ariana. "I can't sleep. I'm worried about Paul." She rubbed at her eyes like it would make her tears stopped. I missed him too and I was worried about what was going on out there. "He didn't even get to say goodnight."

I sighed, remember all the nights that I had felt that way with my dad. But there was always one thing that I could do to make me feel better about it. "Wait here." She frowned, but stood there while I bolted to my closet. Paul had started leaving some of his clothing in the closet, clothing that I hid in the back. And there, buried behind a few dresses that I had actually kept were two of Paul's shirts.

I stripped out of my night shirt and pulled his flannel, long-sleeved shirt on over me, rolling the sleeves to my elbows and padding my way out to the bed again. I tossed his other t-shirt at Ari. "When I was little, I used to hate that my dad wasn't there to say goodnight to me. I used to take his shirts to sleep in. They smell like him." I felt the need to explain after she'd stared at me like I was stupid.

She pulled his other shirt over her tank top, lifting it to smell him. "Can I... Can I sleep in here, Charlie?" I smiled and fought the urge to laugh.

"Of course, Ari. Come on."

We crawled in bed, Ari right in front of me. She rolled on her side, facing away from me. I felt her shuddering as she cried, her little hands up against her face. I rolled up next to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. I didn't know what else to do; how else to comfort her. So I started humming the same tune that Paul did whenever I was going to sleep. I felt her relax against me, her snores shaking her body.

_Please come home soon, Paul. We need you,_ I begged silently. He was the only one that could calm Ari down. The only one that was there for both of us. I sighed and rested my head on the pillow. _Please come home safe._


	35. Chapter XXXIV

**Author's Note: I'm really sorry that there was no chapter yesterday. I don't even know how to explain it to you all. My travels plans got messed up because of one delay and I wasn't able to get much done before I crashed yesterday. Those who follow my other two stories know that I haven't updated those today. I won't be updating ****_Some Hearts, but Not Mine_**** or ****_The Consequences_**** today because of scheduling conflicts. On Wednesday, I will have the new timetables posted. I haven't had time to breathe, let alone to write anything. Tomorrow there will be a double update on all three stories. I'm really sorry for all the shit that has happened. Please bare with me. I pride myself on being able to get all three stories up everyday and I don't think that I have failed thus far. Hopefully that will restore your guys' faith in me and my ability. Once I've figured out scheduling, everything will be fine. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXIV:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I was exhausted; physically finished for the rest of my life. If I never moved again, it would be too soon. All I wanted right now was to fall down and drop into oblivion. After, of course, I checked on Ariana. _She's not at her friend's,_ Brady said in response to my thoughts._ Charlie went and picked her up._

While the action struck me as weird, knowing that Ari and Charlotte were in the same house made it a little easier for me to breathe. Jake's condition was stable for the moment. He had shattered most of the bones in the one side of his body in his stupid attempt to save Leah. I guess it wasn't an attempt; he had done it. Somewhere during the battle, Ryanne had ended up hurt, though. And that was worse than anything that an imprint could feel physically. Embry was going to stay and watch over Ryanne while the rest of us returned to our imprints. There was nothing keeping me from my family.

Sam burst through the front door first, anxious to get home and have his imprint in his arms. For the first time ever, probably in the history of imprinting and wolves, Emily looked to me _before_ embracing Sam. She sidestepped his hold and looked be straight in the eye, her own crinkling at the edges as she smiled. "She's upstairs," she said simply. Sam pulled her close before she could say anything else. But I didn't need anything else. I needed to get to my girl. There was a part of me that knew that I was supposed to go and check on Ariana, but I could hear her irregular heartbeat somewhere in the house. However wrong it was, that was reason enough for me to feel like I could leave her alone and go get my imprint. I jumped up the stairs and practically sprinted to Lotte's room.

Pushing the door aside revealed Charlotte, curled on her side, forearms sticking out from the sleeves of my flannel shirt. The sight of her in my clothing drove the wolf in me crazy. See, I knew that Lotte loved me. She'd made it clear enough when she wasn't leaving me. I mean, she handled wolves and imprinting like a champ. But to wear my shirt, to hold on to me while I was gone was personal. I wanted to take her, to claim her right then and there. But I could hear two heartbeats, forming their own song and mingling with two breaths.

Ari was tucked in close to Charlotte, her little head resting in a sisterly fashion on the pillow next to my girl. Lotte hugged my baby sister protectively to her chest. There were tear tracks on both of their faces. My heart ached at the sight of them. I wanted to make those tears go away. Without another thought, I lifted the covers and slipped in beside my girls. Charlotte sank herself back into my arms immediately, knowing even in her sleep that I was right there behind her.

I threw my arm over both girls, laying my large hand over their two conjoined hands. Ari wiggled as I shifted even closer, trying to push them farther to the other side of the bed. Which was stupid because it was only a queen sized bed and there were three people sleeping on it. Charlotte jolted awake when Ari moved beside her.

She lifted her head, black hair falling around her face, and looked around. She raised a hand to Ari's cheek and checked on her briefly, finally lying herself back on the bed. She shifted herself so that she was more comfortable, having yet to notice that I was there holding her. I tightened my arm around her, grateful for the cold air that surrounded La Push at all times.

The simple motion seemed to make her realize that I was there. With my head propped up by my hand, I watched her with amusement. Her eyes went wide as she recognized exactly what she was seeing. She swallowed hard, her eyes flickering as she mentally debated something or another. There was a long pause as I just stared at her. Finally, she swallowed again and moistened her lips with her little pink tongue. "You're back," she said, the beautiful sound distorted by sleepiness. I smiled, loving the sound of her voice, and nodded. "Thank God."

The arm that was pinned between her and Ari shot up and found the back of my neck, pulling me down to meet her mouth. As soon as she had me where she wanted me, her hand fell right back where it had been. It was the first time that she had ever initiated any affection between the two of us. She kissed me with desperation and longing. I knew the feeling, the gratitude that the person beside you was alive. I kissed her back, leaning over and parting her hair with my fingers. Her mouth vibrated against mine in an almost silent moan. Almost silent.

I still heard the quiet groan that escaped her lips. I dug deeper into her mouth, licking her lower lip to go even further. She let me in, letting me be in control. I almost lost myself in the feeling of having Charlotte underneath me. But then I remembered that Ariana was in the same bed, that I couldn't do that with her right there.

I pulled back, fulling intending to let go. But she spitfire in my arms wasn't ready to be let go of. She pulled my bottom lip into her mouth, the hand that had been holding Ari coming to my side. Her nails dug into my flesh. I couldn't help myself; I flinched. My ribs were still throbbing, but I knew a little rest would let them heal the rest of the way.

Charlotte pulled away, opening and closing her mouth like a fish while she argued with herself about whether or not to speak. "I'm fine," I assured her, taking the pressure away from her. I didn't want her to feel like she had to talk all the time, like now that she had learned I expected her to speak all that time. No; it was her choice. Everything about us was her decision. "I'll heal up soon enough. I just need some rest."

She smiled and turned back to Ari, pulling me along with her. I stiffly rolled on my side and tucked my knees behind hers. My long arm reached over both my girls. Cautiously, I lowered my head so that I was sharing Charlotte's pillow, my face buried in her hair. This was what I was always going to fight for. The two girls that I loved being nestled in my arms would always be fuel enough for any fight that I would ever have to face.

Shit.

I loved Charlotte. I mean, I knew tat I felt _something_; hell, I knew that I loved her. In my heart, I knew that I loved her. But I'd never admitted it to myself. _"Goodnight, Paul."_ I knew that she would never hear it, but I returned the words.

And quietly, knowing that she would never hear, I added, "I love you Charlotte." There. The words didn't hurt so much coming out. In fact, they didn't feel anything like what I thought they would. I had expected heart wrenching pain when I said the words. Instead, I felt a flutter. Fucking Paul LaHote felt a _flutter._ I felt better than what I had been expecting. I felt like everything was going to be fine now that I had said the words. This was one step closer to saying the actual words to her, one step closer to being able to tell her how I felt. She deserved the words, she deserved to know how I felt about. Even if I couldn't get them out right, even if they came out sounding like shit, she deserved to know the words. "I love you, Charlotte Elizabeth Rivers." Someday soon, I would be able to let her see the words too.


	36. Chapter XXXV

**Author's Note: Okay, here we are. I'll have another chapter up just before midnight. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXXV**

I could feel everything shifting and moving, the cold night air swirling around my side and legs. But I was so comfortable that I couldn't bring myself to move. I just wanted to sit there and hold Paul in my arms. Ariana moved a little as something warm and utterly captivating landed on my waist. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. I ran my fingers over the little mark on her cheeks where some fabric had made an imprint on her cheek. She didn't stir so I determined that she was still asleep.

I rested my head back on the warm pillow that should have chilled while I was looked down at Ariana. The blanket tightened of its own accord, pulling me tight against a wall. A wall? The blanket constricted? No; everything was all so warm and more comfortable than anything I had felt before. I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Ari was still sleeping. Paul's arm was tight across the both of us. Paul?

I'm sure that my eyes went wide as I realized who was holding me. I rolled over to see Paul's dark brown eyes staring down at me. He was a little dirty and he looked exhausted, but he was here and he was safe. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. I wanted to make sure that he was really back with me, but I couldn't sign with my hands tangled with Ari's. Could I actually say the words without fucking them up? I mean, Paul probably wouldn't care if they weren't perfect. But what if they were so bad that he couldn't understand them? Oh well, here goes nothing. "You're back," I said. At Least, I hoped that I said it. There was no real guarantee. His smile was brighter than anything I had ever seen as he nodded. "Thank God," I managed to add.

He was still just smiling at me, but I needed more. I wiggled my arm until it was free from the confines of Ari's back and did the unthinkable. I grabbed his head and pulled him down so that I could kiss him. I was so glad to have him back in my arms, to have him here with me in this bed. He didn't hesitate to kiss me back, his fingers digging into my scalp in the most delicious way. God I couldn't believe that he'd made it back to me.

The hand that I had laid over Ariana's waist came up to reach Paul's waist and ribs, feeling the muscles ripple underneath my hand. I felt the vibrations of a growl building in his chest, prompting me to pull him closer. But he flinched. He didn't pull away and it was only for an instant, but it was testament that something had in fact hurt him. I pulled away immediately, checking over his face for any marks that I hadn't seen earlier. What was hurt? It had to be his ribs. That's what I had been touching when he'd cringed. I wanted so desperately to ask him where he was hurt, but I hadn't mastered the words like I would have liked to. I had already taken enough risks tonight. But how would he know what I wanted to know if I didn't ask?

"I'm fine." I sighed heavily as he read my mind and made it easier for me to breathe again. How could that boy manage to make everything so much easier? He made me feel like everything was okay no matter what. "I'll heal up soon enough. I just need some rest." He still hadn't told me what was wrong. But I knew that he had some crazy healing ability. If we slept quietly, maybe he would be fine in the morning.

So instead of asking more questions or pushing him for more information, I turned back over and pulled him with me. He moved a little slower than usual, but he eventually had himself on his side with his arm encompassing me and Ariana. I knew that he was speaking just by the way his chest was vibrating against my shoulder blades, but I would never be able to hear what he was saying. For the first time in my life though, I didn't think that that was a problem. Paul didn't seem to care about that. In fact, he made it seem like every choice that I made was my own and he would be happy no matter what it was.

With those happy thoughts, I drifted off to a dreamless sleep. Paul would never leave me. With Ariana in front of us, I had the final thought, right before sleep claimed me that we were our own convoluted kind of family.

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The morning light was streaming through the window, hitting me straight in the face. I didn't want to wake up. I had no desire to open my eyes and leave the warmth that was surrounding me. It was time for me to wake up whether I wanted to or not. I groaned, trying to do everything in my power not to wake up. The arms around me twisted until I was lying against a warm, hard pillow on the opposite side that I had been lying on. I opened my eyes enough to see that Ari had left her spot on the opposite side of the bed. A beautiful face lie before me, no anger marks or worry lines straining his forehead. My own happy angel holding me tight to his chest.

He cracked his eyes open and smiled as he saw me staring at him. He tugged and pulled on me until I was lying on top of him, chest to chest with my head resting just below his collarbone. He hummed the same little lullaby while I was just sitting there, rattling with his vibrations in his arms. I sat up a little, resting my chin on the hard bone between his pecs. "Good morning."

I lifted my hands from his chest. "Good morning. Feeling better?" If he wasn't, I should get off his chest. It was his chest that was hurt, wasn't it? I couldn't really remember for the life of me.

"I'm all healed up, Lotte. Don't worry about me." I nodded. I wasn't sure what to do now. I had said the dreaded three words. I still didn't expect him to say them back; that was asking too much from a guy that had been burned so many times in his life. His arms squeezed me a little, holding me to him so that I couldn't move. "So... you learned to talk?"

I'm sure I turned scarlet red. I just couldn't help myself. I don't what I had been expecting when I learned to talk. I just wasn't thinking that I was going to have to explain to Paul _why _I learned how to speak. I mean, it wasn't like it would make him mad. And he had proven that he wouldn't leave me any time soon. But I didn't want him to think that my reasoning behind it had anything _bad_ to do with him. I mean, he was obviously a big part of why I wanted to learn to speak but there were other factors. "Lotte?" He shook me a little to make sure that I was paying attention to him again.

"It's hard to be the only deaf person in a group of hearing people. I mean, it's one thing when it was just me, my dad, and Penn. You know?" He nodded a little, but I wasn't sure if he really understood. "But all of our friends are hearing. I live in a house of hearing people and I can't speak to any of them."

"Has anyone made you feel uncomfortable, Lotte? I mean, I can talk to the guys." I smiled and moved my hand over his mouth.

"Paul, no one has made me feel bad or upset or anything like that. The guys are great, really. But it's not much fun to have them ask you questions and sign back and they only understand a few of the signs. This way I can speak back to them, you know? When I get better."

"You're amazing at speaking, Lotte. Don't let them tell you otherwise." I smiled. No one had said anything different about it; I was just tough on myself. "So you learned to speak for our friends?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No; I mean, yes. I had a lot of reasons for learning to speak and our friends are a part of it."

"And the other parts?" His eyebrows were cocked like he was expecting an answer.

"Maybe I can do better in school if I can speak. I can participate in class and people will stop staring at me."

"Are people picking on you?" Anger dropped over his face.

"Stop it; that's not what I meant. I just meant that it would be nice to communicate with everyone. And besides that, what happens when we have kids? If I need your help? What happens when our kids are hearing and I can't speak with them?" It was one of those statements that you regret as soon as it leaves your mouth. I hadn't meant to imply that we were going to have kids any time soon. It just slipped out.

"Our kids will obviously learn to sign, Lotte." He said the words with the most nonchalant look on his face, I wasn't sure how to react. "Whatever your reasons are, I'm glad you learned to speak, Charlotte. You have the most beautiful voice."

"I'll take your word for it." I laid back down on his chest, just glad to have him here again. His hand tipped my chin up to look at him.

"I have to go and take watch on Jake. Want to come? Ari went back over to Marcie's." I smiled and nodded.

"Wait, what happened with Jake?" He frowned and bit his lip. "Paul?"


	37. Chapter XXXVI

**Author's Note: Okay, so I don't know what's wrong with my computer and its war on this story, but I have been posting chapters the last two days and I get emails that say that they've posted, but when I go check them, they're not there. I signed out and reset my email and a whole bunch of other stuff, removed the chapters. I won't be posting multiple chapters to get caught up until the weekend (probably) but I will start single chapters again. I'm so sorry that you all had to wait two days! But enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXXVI**

Jake was pretty torn up from the fight, but he had Ryanne with him. Paul said that having the imprints there helps them relax which then helps them heal better. I was just glad that no one was dead. Well, except for the vampires. Paul made sure that I was well aware that all the vampires were dead.

Paul was in the kitchen with Billy, talking about "official" business, so I sat patiently on the couch, watching television and wishing I could hear Jake and Ryanne's breathing so that I could be sure they were okay. Then again, I guess Paul could hear well enough for the both of us. And while I was pondering the stupid show that was on the screen, a grape flew out of no where and smacked me in the cheek.

I playfully glared at him while he smiled widely at me. "Would you get the door?" I nodded and rose from my place. I didn't recognize the girl behind the wooden portal. She wasn't smiling, her big brown eyes and auburn hair were just sad. I guess some would say that she was pretty. But I didn't see her that way. She looked like she was going to be sick to her stomach at any moment. "Who are you?"

Maybe it was just me, but I thought that it was a rude thing to ask someone that you'd never never that. I frowned at her, taking her in and fighting the urge to judge her. She just seemed like a bitch. Like a legitimate bitch too, not like Leah and Ryanne who were just rough around the edges. "Look, I don't know if you're stupid or if the guys have gotten you to hate me or what, but I need to see Jake." She said with a look on her face that told me I better move out of her way. And who would the guys "make me hate"?

Bella.

This must be the infamous Bella Swan. I kind of wanted to scream because Paul had described her as no better than the vampires that she hung out with. But I didn't scream. Jake had told Ryanne that he didn't want to see Bella again, not after she'd caused Ryanne's seizure. The guys fought to make sure that I was always safe. This was the one way that I could repay _one_ of the guys. I could be strong. Just because I was silent didn't mean that I was dumb or weak.

So I stood in front of her, leaning against the door jam and staring at her. "Can you hear me? Move please!" I just cocked my head to the side like I was a dog, fighting the laughter that threatened t bubble. It was the thought of a dog or acting like one that would make me think of Paul. "Sorry, I'm deaf."

"I don't understand that. So you just can't hear?" She obviously did not understand the point of sign language. "Move." I stayed where I was. "Move!"

A few months ago, someone appearing randomly behind me and grabbing me would have scared me shitless. But now, I just assumed it was one of the guys. Or Paul. Usually Paul. He pulled me back into his side. All I could see was his spiky black hair and broad back in front of me. I stepped out from behind him so that I could make sure that I understood what was going on. Paul kept his arm wrapped around my side but allowed me to step forward, understand how important it was to me that I knew what was going on. "Nobody wants you here, Bella." He looked scarier than I had ever.

"He's my best friend and she's my sister." What did that have to do with whether or not they wanted to see her? I mean, Penn was my family and there were days where I didn't want to see her. She looked down, but passed me so I assumed she was talking to Billy. Her eyes were a little closer to the ground. Paul tensed as Bella listened to whatever it was Billy had to say. I liked him; he didn't seem to mind at all that I was deaf. Ad while his sign language was about the same as a four-year-old's, he tried really hard to use what he knew. "I'm sorry Billy." I watched her rush towards Billy and shove his chair back. Paul growled and followed her into the back of the hall. I followed Paul, noticing the look that Jake gave Paul.

My wolf nodded stiffly and took me to the living room again. "So that was Bella?" I asked when we were sitting on the couch.

"Leech lover." I just cocked an eyebrow at him. _"Jake's going to be a little sore the next few days. He was really hurt."_ We still hadn't talked about what had happened during the battle, just that he'd been hurt.

"Hey Paul?" I pressed down on his arm and tried to tug him closer to me. He looked over at me with lifted brows. "How did you get hurt?"

_"I was working with a leech and I got distracted. The newborn got too close and managed to get his arms around me."_

"But you're okay now... Right?"

"_Yes Lotte, I'm fine."_ I smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. I leaned against his side and watched the corny romantic comedy on T.V. I didn't really have a problem with the movie until someone said something about love. Paul hadn't said that he loved me... At all. It was kind of hard. There was a part of me that worried that I had messed everything up. I didn't want to hurt him or make him feel like he was pressured. I just wanted to know that he felt _something._ I mean anything!

But that was probably asking too much. Paul wasn't exactly a poet, although Leah said he was better at expressing himself than Nate. Either way, Paul wasn't the most eloquent of speakers. But his actions always spoke louder than his words. I chose to believe that they were up to my own interpretation. So with that in mind, I reviewed all the things that had happened since I had said the words. And I had _actually_ said them. After they had left my mouth, Paul had kissed me like never before. He trusted me with his sister, begged me to stay safe, came home and got straight into bed with me and Ari, and stayed with me all night. He may not be able to say the words, but he definitely _acted_ like he loved me.

_"What are you thinking about?"_ I bit my lip, not wanting to admit that I was concerned about what I had done to our relationship when I said that I loved him.

"Nothing important." I shrugged; shrugging was good. You couldn't show much emotion with a shrug.

_"You know, I've never really done this before. But I was thinking that maybe we should put a label on this."_ He waved between the two of us, but I just frowned and bit my lip. I didn't want to put a label if it was something that made him feel uneasy. _"I've never really had a girlfriend before, Lotte. But... uh, that's what I'd like you to be. If - if that's okay with you."_

I hid the bright smile that threatened to bloom at his words. I swallowed hard, trying to avoid overusing my words. "I'd like that," I whispered. Paul smiled brightly and leaned down to kiss me. There was a worry that he was getting used to me speaking, more than I would like him to be. But if I got a kiss every time I said something, I would be willing to speak more often.

"I still have a hard time believing that you learned that." He was smiling so brightly and then he groaned. _"I have to go deal with the witch."_ I nodded and shoved away from him. He was gone for a good little while, but I wasn't sure what was going on.

All of the sudden he showed up in the living room with Bella Swan tossed over his shoulder. I jumped up from the couch and followed him out the door and down the porch. He unceremoniously tossed Bella on her ass. "You heard Jake, leech lover. You are not welcome on our land. And if you ever yell at my imprint again, I'll rip your throat out. Now leave." Paul looked ferocious as he waited for the skinny twig to scramble to her feet and get in her car. Then he turned his attention to me. "You should have heard her crying about wanting to be Jake's friend and being sorry for the shit that she caused."

I frowned a little, sure that Paul hadn't realized what he said. It wasn't the words that bothered me; just Paul's irritation. I placed my hands over his eyes, blinding him with my palms. "What are you doing?"

I removed my hands and placed them over my ears. "I can't hear. Hear no evil." I pushed my hands back over his eyes and spoke, "see no evil." He smiled as I pulled away. "Then we can do no evil."

"There's nothing evil about you, Charlotte Rivers. Not one single thing." He kissed me chastely and linked arms with me. _"Let's go."_

"Where are we going?"

_"To my house."_


	38. Chapter XXXVII

**Author's Note: I wanted to address Simply Me'sreview yesterday. I'm sorry that you felt like there were so many inconsistencies in the story. I'll definitely be sure to explain things in greater detail in the future. I felt like this might help you all understand a little better. I'm deaf, have been since my accident when I was ten. I'm still able to drive without any real problems. In fact, I probably drive better than most people ****_because_**** I can't here. As for sirens, I follow the cars in front of me or I see the lights. Lights are usually the best reminder. As for the headphones, hearing people have a bad habit of staring and say stupid shit when they see someone whose deaf. So I will generally turn on music and put in headphones because people assume that I'm just listening to music. It's kind of like a defense mechanism. I'm sorry that you felt like I've let you down with the story. I'll try to fix it in the future. But I do want to thank you for letting me know that my deafness has gotten in the way of the story. I take some things for granted.**

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**Chapter XXXVII**

As we neared the house, I couldn't quite believe that Paul was bringing me here. I mean, I had always hoped that he would bring me to the house, that I would be welcomed there. But after I'd picked up Ari that one day, I was doubting that he would ever want me around. I mean, he didn't even want me to know where he lived. But as we neared the house, it became clear that Paul was serious about taking me to his home.

_"I've never brought anyone to the house before."_ He signed the words while he was staring at the ground. _"My dad is a drunk, beyond a drunk. He doesn't clean anything...ever. It't bad for Ari's health to be here, but every single time that I clean up it just gets filthy in the next few days. But my dad has been gone for the last couple of weeks, which means that the house is finally something that I ca be proud of."_ Pride; it would be Paul's ultimate downfall. I didn't care if the house was a double wide trailer; I was just glad that he was going to show me where he lived.

The porch was cleaner than I last remembered it. The porch swing looked like it had gotten new cushions and a fresh staining on the wood. There was no dust or leaves on the old veranda like there had been when I was there to get Ari that one day. Paul wrapped his hand around the door handle and pulled it open. "It's not really much, but it's home." I smiled and stepped over the threshold.

There were alcohol stains on the carpets, but nothing that couldn't be shampooed out of the ground. "It's nice." He smiled at the compliment.

"You haven't even seen the house." I smiled and laughed with a shrug. I didn't need to see the rest of the house to know that it was nice; Paul lived here. Still, I let him lead me into the kitchen. It was white walls with black tiles and white cabinets with black counters. But the microwave was green and the blender was pink and the coffee pot was orange and so on. It was something that Ari would have designed. "Ariana likes this." He shrugged. Yeah, I was getting to know them that well. We walked out an opening opposite the one that we had come in, leading to a staircase that I hadn't noticed.

He dragged me upstairs to Ariana's room. "I painted it for her when she came home from one of her first surgeries." I wondered how people didn't know about this side of Paul. He was such a caring older brother. And one day, he would make the greatest father that the world had ever seen. I mean, he was practically a father to Ariana now. But it was this side of him that he kept hidden from the rest of the world. It was so unfortunate that so few people got to see this side of him.

He showed me a bathroom and then his father's room, which was the dirtiest part of the whole house. But there was one thing that he didn't show me: his room. We were sitting down on the couch, Paul trying to figure out how to make the closed captioning work. "Paul? He looked down at the hand on his arm before he looked over at me. "Where's your room?" His smile fell as I asked the question. I felt bad, wishing that I could take it back. That was the problem with words. You couldn't ever take them back.

He wrapped my hand around his and walked me through the kitchen to the stairs again. But instead of going upstairs, he rounded the staircase to a small closet, pulling to door open. There were handfuls of clothing on a shelf inside next to some textbooks that I recognized from class. Other than that, the room (if you could call it that) was dominated by Paul's fold out cot of a bed. I frowned and turned to find Paul just staring at the little bed. "I used to have Ariana's room, back when my mom was around. When I found out that I was having a baby sister," he looked away from me, but I was just waiting for him. He usually didn't forget to look at me. "My dad and I worked over night to get the room ready for the baby. It still had footballs and all the boy stuff, but my bed was gone.

"When she was born, I was only like four. Sleeping underneath the stairs wasn't a problem. Then we found out about Ari's health and all the problems that she was going to have because my mom was a drunk and a drug user. She never wanted Ariana. She was actually upset when she found out that she was pregnant. She left the night after we brought her home from the hospital. Dad started drinking and I figured out how to take care of a baby. The original plan was for Dad to build another room for me, but he never got around to it. If he had a hammer now, I would probably run. He can barely walk in a straight line. So this is home." He shrugged at the end of his speech like it was nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary.

Paul took such good care of everyone around him. I mean, he didn't like the way that my parents were treating me so he got me out and presented me with a whole new family of people that actually cared about me. And then you had Ariana. I didn't doubt that Paul would do everything he could to take care of her. "Why don't you just take your dad's room? You said yourself, he hasn't been here."

"I think that room is cursed. I mean, it didn't bring my parents any luck. I stay out of there." I nodded. I wouldn't live in my parents room. I mean, I had been conceived there and I was deaf. I wouldn't change what I was or the person that I had become for anything. But what I was had ruined my family. I had no one to blame but myself for that.

"Why don't you just build another room? I mean, we could build the extra room like you were supposed to." It seemed like an easy enough idea. I mean, how much could it possibly cost to add a room to a house?

_"We?" _

I blushed bright red as I realized what I had let slip. "I mean...yeah. We." This was the hard part that I wanted to avoid, but I was one of those people who said the things that I was thinking. "I know that you didn't say it back yesterday, Paul."

"It was two days ago." I knew what he was trying to do. I knew that he was trying to distract me from saying the things that were going to hurt him. But I had to get them out.

"You don't get to speak until I finish." He closed his mouth instantly. "I know that you didn't say it back yesterday. And I don't want you to feel like I need to hear it right now. If you don't feel it right now, or you're not sure, that's fine Paul. I just wanted you to know before you had to go off to the battle. And now that I've seen what Jake looks like, I'm glad that I said it. But you imprinted on me, which means that whether you say it or not, there's always going to be a we."

He was staring at my hands like he couldn't understand what I was saying. But Paul definitely knew what I was saying. There were no signs in the sentences that I had said that he wouldn't understand. He pulled me into his arms and held me close to his chest. His hands were stroking up and down on my back. He pulled back and kissed my forehead. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm so glad the spirits gave you to me." I just smiled at him and stood up on tip toe to kiss him. This would be harder if I was shorter.

I was glad that the spirits had brought me to Paul. I couldn't imagine my life with another guy.


	39. Chapter XXXVIII

**Author's Note: I'm warning you now that things are getting a little intense tonight. Be prepared for some fluff. I'm sorry that it's up a whole hour late. You take one fall from a horse and the hospital freaks out. They wouldn't let me have my computer no matter how many times I asked. Well, that was more my fiancé's fault but either way. Sorry and enjoy!**

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**Chapter XXXVIII**

It was stupid to say that I was living at Sam and Emily's because most of my stuff was at Paul and Ari's. I thought that Emily would be upset when she caught me sneaking home the first night nearly two weeks ago. Instead, she just told me to let her know where I was so that she and Sam knew that I was safe and that they didn't have to worry about me. I could argue that I was always with a Rez on the wolf which mean that I was always safe. But I just nodded and smiled and promised that I would never do anything like that again.

And I hadn't. I was sure to let her know where I would be spending the night. Again, it was kind of stupid because I stayed at Paul's ever night. He'd exchanged the downstairs couch for a futon, not willing to accept help from anyone else in order to build another room. Our lives were kind of blissful. His father had been missing for a month. I had a feeling that he would be back soon, thought. I wasn't sure why, only that things were too quiet. I mean, my world was always quiet because I could hear anything. But you know what I mean.

I tossed the throw pillows back onto the bed/couch and placed our blankets in the closet that was vacated now. I was glad to know that Paul wasn't spending time in that little place anymore. I mean, he wasn't fucking Harry Potter. He was Paul LaHote, the former man-whore of La Push. I didn't tell him that I called him that in my head. It would only make him worry if I was upset with him for something. I wasn't; Paul was just a worry wart. But now that the battle was over, our lives had picked up an easy routine and there was nothing for him to worry about.

Every morning, at ten on the dot, Paul would get up and "sneak" out the back door. I don't think he realized that the shaking of the bed woke me up every morning. Either way, I would sit in bed and wait for him to leave, usually about five minutes, before I would get up myself. I would go and wake Ari before going downstairs to start breakfast for her. I couldn't help but think that this was the kind of life that I was supposed to have. I mean, it was kind of fucked up that Paul and I were playing the role of Ari's parents, but at least she had someone to look after her, right? I lost count of how many mornings I had woken up in my big old house alone or with a hearing nanny that couldn't communicate with me.

I liked the idea of having a family, especially when I thought about having a family with Paul. I mean, it was hard not to think about it. We were living together and working together to raise his sister. So I tried to be the best surrogate parent that I could. I would take Paul's truck when Ari was ready and drive her to her summer camp that Paul had allowed her to sign up for. I was so proud of him for letting her go, for giving up just a little bit of his control. After I dropped Ari off, there really wasn't much more to do. Being allowed off the Rez again, I would usually drive down to the gym and do some basic laps so that I wasn't sitting in the house wasting away. After I finished working out, I'd shower and head back home, cleaning and dreaming about the things that Paul and I could do to the house to make it less like the prison that he and Ari remembered it as.

Paul came home around four, right before Ari had to be picked up. Since I did drop off and pretended to watch Ari sign about all the things that she had forgotten to tell me the night before, Paul did pick up, where he actually had to listen to Ari talk, even if he ignored it. By the time they were home, usually around five thirty, I would have dinner ready and on the table. We would sit down at talk, or sign I guess, recounting the things that had happened during our times apart. I hadn't spoken in nearly two weeks. Much to my pleasure, Paul had insisted on it. In fact, he'd been rather gentlemanly about my silence.

But I think my favorite parts of the day were the evenings. Paul would pull out our bed. I thought it was silly that we even bothered to put it away; no one ever came over. Still, Paul had insisted that it be put away and I obliged. I mean, I was a guest in the home, technically speaking. Regardless, I would change into pajamas while Paul made up our bed. Then he would strip down to his boxers and settle into bed. It was amazing to have him there, to feel like this was our home. I didn't ask about bills, which I probably should since I was living there.

He would pull me tight against his chest and stare down at me, his mouth moving in little words of love. I assumed he was whispering; he wouldn't want Ari to hear all of the things that he was saying. Today had been no different than the rest of our days, but tonight was different. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew that I something big was going to happen tonight.

Like normal, I went to change into my pajamas. But for some reason, the cotton shorts and tank top didn't seem appropriate. No, my hands moved without my permission and changed me into silk shorts that barely covered my ass and a matching shirt. I had forgotten that I even owned the clothes. They were what I wore on the rare days that I got enough sun to be sunburned. They showed the smooth skin of my abdomen and a lot more cleavage that I was comfortable with for sleeping. But my body wasn't willing to give me enough time to turn around and look at myself in the mirror. I could have looked like a common prostitute for all I knew.

I was kind of nervous standing in front of Paul. Again, it was stupid; Paul would never reject me. I mean, he would always want me. It was part of the imprint. Amazing how that knowledge didn't help me swallow my anxiety. No, I was just like every other girl in the world. Deaf and imprint didn't really matter right now. "What are you wearing?" Not exactly what I was looking for when I got out of the bathroom. I bit my lip nervously, trying to let him know without saying the words that I had no idea what I was doing.

I crossed the floor quietly, not even relishing in the feel of the soft carpet between my toes and beneath my feet. No, instead I brought myself to the mattress and kneeled by his side. Paul had flopped down on his back, his arm tossed over his eyes, but not his lips. "Are you trying to kill?" I knew that he couldn't see me, but I still shook my head. "Because that's what it feels like."

I wrapped my hands around his forearm and pulled it away from his face. "What's wrong?" His eyes scanned my body briefly before he tossed his arm back over his face.

"Nothing is wrong; nothing that you can fix." I frowned, trying to figure out what he was saying, but it just didn't make sense. Clearly I had done something wrong, something that had upset him. It wasn't my intention. Hell, I couldn't tell you why I was even wearing the clothes.

"What did I do?" I asked when he pulled his arm away from his face. "Please tell me?"

"It's nothing that you did. It's just hard not to... _Never mind._"

"Not to what?"

_"It's nothing Lotte."_ That didn't stop him from rolling over onto his stomach and hiding his head underneath his pillow. I frowned and bit my lip before deciding on a course of action. I mean, there was only so much that a girl could do in this situation. I crawled my way over to him and started massaging his back, remembering when he'd said that he got sore after running some times. Maybe that was what was bothering him. I started slow and soft, not really sure how much pressure you apply when you're massaging your wolf boyfriend with super strength. His arm contorted at a weird angle and pulled me down underneath him, his eyes dark but not angry like they normally were at this color. "You enjoy torturing me, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I honestly didn't. I just thought that he might be sore. Maybe I had done something wrong.

"The clothes were just for fun then? I can't do this to you, Lotte. It wouldn't be fair of me." As soon as I recognized his words, I recognized the look in his eyes. Well, one of them. Lust. My body had known what it wanted; that's why I was wearing these stupid clothes and practically throwing myself at him. And he didn't want to do anything until he could say the words back.

"It wouldn't be fair to leave you hanging." His eyes went wide in the millisecond before he was kissing me and I was working on his boxers. He was right; I needed to see the words before I could do the action. But we both needed something tonight. And Ari wasn't home.

God we were turning into parents; waiting for the kids to be gone before we could fool around. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the task at hand.


	40. Chapter XXXIX

**Author's Note: Okay, enough of the fluff. Time for some drama. :) Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXXIX**

I was sleeping peacefully a week later when the bed shifted and the lights above flared on. I opened my eyes wide and stared at the red light as my eyes adjusted. Paul, shirtless and frantic, was jumping up the stairs. He was bolting up the stairs, taking them five at a time as he pounded upstairs. The entire house was shaking as he pounded across the floor upstairs and made his way into one room or another. I assumed it was Ariana's; there was no other reason for him to be upstairs at three in the morning.

The house was shaking again, more so than before. And then Paul appeared on the stairway, Ari bundled in his arms. Her entire form was shaking in his arms, blood dripping down her nose and trickling out of a vein in her arm. "Get to the car," Paul commanded. I jumped up out of the bed, grabbing one of his zip up sweaters.

I was rushing towards the door, trying to beat Paul while watching his mouth move as he held Ari close to his chest. As soon as he was out the door, he started jogging to the car while I locked the door and jumped down the porch stairs. By the time I joined him at the car, Paul had laid Ari out along the back of the car. I watched as he debated what to do, jumping between the driver's door and the back. He was torn between driving and holding his sister while we got her to the hospital.

"Paul," I said. He turned to stare at me. "I can't drive at night." I mean, I could, but it was something that I was afraid of if it wasn't on a motorbike. That was simple; there was no one to look out for. But driving on the roads at night was a whole new problem that I was going to have to learn to deal with. Things could jump out when I couldn't see them and it was terrifying. "I'll sit in the back with her."

He nodded and jumped into the front seat, giving me enough room to jump into the car. I rested Ari's head in my lap and stroked her hair, humming and hushing her whenever necessary. She had turned her face into me, hiding herself in the folds of my jacket and staining it with her blood. Paul opened up the door as soon as we were in the hospital parking lot. "You're going to be okay." I'm sure his voice was calm and something that I could immediately trust, but the look on his face was worried, terrified.

I held her head in my hands as I exited the car, smoothing her hair as I finally released her. Paul pulled her close again and carried her straight to the emergency room, appearing to know some of the nurses by name. They took Ari from him by the time that I had locked the car and was standing beside him, fighting my shivers from the cold air. I hadn't been expecting us to get up in the middle of the night and when sleeping next to Paul, you couldn't wear sweatpants or anything. No; instead I was wearing spandex shorts that I used to use for land training when I was still diving. But Ari was more important than me at the moment.

"She's going to be okay." I nodded, shivering a little more. "Shit, Lotte, I'm sorry; I didn't even think about bringing you clothes." I just smiled up at him. I understood; Ariana was more important. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, his warmth seeping through my chills and heating my bones. I looked up at him with a little brighter smile. It was hard to be happy when your little sister was in the hospital. "You're welcome." Oh Paul, ever understanding. "It's her kidneys; it was bound to happen again at some point."

I frowned. It shouldn't be like this for her; she wasn't even fourteen yet. She had a full life to live, with a man that had yet to present himself and kids that I knew she dreamed about. Her life shouldn't be about dialysis and kidney transplants. I stepped out of Paul's arms and looked up at him. "I have to go to the bathroom; I'll be back in a few." He nodded, as I knew he would, and I walked away.

I waited until I was out of Paul's sight and hearing to begin jogging down the hallways to the back office that I knew well. He was the only man that I had ever talked to about getting my operation. Leave it to me to go beck to him for a completely different surgery this time. I warm had pulled me to a stop before I could get to the office, though. "Where's the fire?" Leah. I should have known the hand was too small to be Paul's.

"Leah, you can't tell him that you saw me." I was begging but she didn't seem to understand. I grabbed the notepad from her hands. _I hope that everything is okay with you and Nate. Leah, you can't tell Paul that you saw me. Please. I'll do anything. Just don't tell him._

She scanned the page and then looked over at me with a suspicious eye. "You're not in any trouble are you?" I shook my head honestly. "Okay; I'll keep it between you and me. But you owe me." I hugged her to convey my thanks and ran down the hall, finding Dr. Cullen's office.

_"Charlie, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_ He was always nice and the only doctor in the hospital in Forks that could sign, but now that I knew what he was, I was a little more apprehensive. He had never hurt me before and I saw no reason for him to do so now. I was just letting fear get the best of me. And I shouldn't be; Ariana was the one who needed help.

"How much do you know about Ariana LaHote?" The hospital was small and there were only a few cases that didn't call for Dr. Cullen. Despite his monster status, he was still a great doctor. He was probably such a good doctor _because_ of his monster status.

_"She has severe kidney degeneration; she'll need a transplant soon."_ He frowned a little. _"I know that you're involved with the LaHote family, Charlie, but I can't tell you more than that. Why do you ask?"_

"If I was a match, how quickly could we give Ari one of my kidneys?" He looked taken aback but quickly masked it.

_"The paperwork could be filed in the next few days. It would be about a week before an actual transplant could be done, but no more than seven days. Why are you so interested Charlie? Your father would need to -"_

"I'm eighteen now, or at least I will be in two days. Could you... Could you test me and find out if I was a match for Ariana?"

_"The test is not difficult if that's what you're asking. Does her brother -"_

"He doesn't know and I don't want him to, not until we find out the results. Please, Dr. Cullen; you said yourself she'll need a transplant soon. If I can be a match than we can fix her kidneys. I mean, one fully functioning kidney is better than the two dying ones that she has no, right?"

_"Yes, a single transplant would take her off dialysis and significantly improve her help."_ I rolled up my sleeve, exposing the vein that I used whenever I donated blood.

"Test me." He looked hesitant. "Please."

He left the room and returned a few moments later with a syringe. "You need to be a blood type match, a antigen match, and crossmatched. The process is supposed to take two weeks." I inhaled sharply, sure that I had no hope left. Paul couldn't keep going through this. We needed to get this fixed as soon as possible. "But for a case as important as Ariana's, we could know tonight. We have all her information on file."

I just nodded, trying to downplay my ecstasy. This could work. Dr. Cullen took the blood sample and nodded to me. "I have to go back to Paul. We'll be wherever Ariana is. Find me when you know the answer? Please?"

_"Of course, Charlie. I hope everything works out." _I smiled at him, walking away. It wasn't until I was at the door that I remembered the last thing I had to do.

"Dr. Cullen?" He nodded to me. "Could this stay between you and me? Until the results that is? I don't want Paul to get his hopes up."

_"Of course, Charlie."_I nodded again and marched my way back to Paul. This had to work. It was the one thing that I could do to help Paul, to help Ari. Paul was standing outside of a room, looking through the window at his sister. He looked so angry, but I'm sure that he was really upset. It was just the mask that Paul LaHote put up for everyone else to see.

_"Hey, everything okay?"_ He asked the question as soon as I was back by his side.

"Fine; I just needed to take care of something." He looked at me questioningly, but I knew the right thing to say to distract him. "What'd they say about Ari?"

_"The same thing that they say every time. She needs a new kidney and until she gets it, I better get used to this. There's only so much time that dialysis can buy her."_ He rested his forehead against the glass, sadness weighing down on his shoulder.

"Getting a kidney, it would fix everything, wouldn't it?" He nodded, his eyes moving back to Ari's sleeping form. At least there wasn't blood all over her face now. I wrapped my arm around his waist and help him close to me. "It's all going to work out, Paul," I whispered. The smile that usually came with my spoken words didn't make it's appearance, but I knew that he had other things on his mind.

We sat there just watching the nurses come in and help her. Everyone once in a while, they would stop and say something to Paul, but I ignored it all, impatiently awaiting the rest results. It had been hours when I saw Dr. Cullen out of the corner of my eye. Paul's nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and turned, keeping me behind him. _"I have your results."_

I stepped beside Paul, who looked down at me with anger flaring in his eyes. _"What results? What is he talking about Lotte?"_ I lifted my hands to tell him something, to make up a lie, but a movement from Dr. Cullen caught my intention.

_"Charlotte, you're a match."_


	41. Chapter XL

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I want to thank you all for the great reviews yesterday. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XL**

_"A match for what? What did you do?"_ Paul snapped at me.

"I didn't do anything bad, Paul. Thank you, Dr. Cullen." I nodded at him, trying to tell him that he could leave. It wasn't important for him to be here no.

_"Charlotte, we need to know your decision as soon as possible. The sooner we know, the quicker the arrangements can be made."_ I nodded and bit my lip as I watched Paul's quivering increase. I laid a hand on his arm, forcing him to look down at me. All I did was shake my head, trying to keep him calm.

"Thank you, Doctor." He nodded and left the hallway, leaving me with a very angry looking Paul. "Before you say anything, I'm warning you now that if you yell at me, I'm leaving." His eyes narrowed and he inhaled, his chest rising sharply with the motion.

_"What did you do, Lotte? What is he talking about?"_ There was a dangerous look in his eyes, like he was going to tear me apart. _"Answer me, Charlotte."_

"Stop being so demanding." I had been hoping for a smile, but I definitely didn't get it. "I was worried, Paul. I had never seen Ari like that; I didn't know what to do. I was worried about her. She needs a new kidney. We talked about Ari, about her disease, about the fact that she needed a new kidney. I just... You had already been tested and there was nothing that you could do about this. But we didn't know about me." His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open, his chest rising and falling. But I couldn't tell if it was with anxiety or anticipation. I wasn't sure if he was upset that I had gone to talk to Dr. Cullen or if he was excited to know what I was about to say.

"I wanted to know, to find out if there was something I could do about this. We talked about how quickly it could happen. A week, Paul. We could have her in surgery with one of my kidneys in a week. All of her problems would be solved."

_"You went and got tested? That's what took you so long in the bathroom?"_

"Yes, but that's besides the point."

_"You lied to me, Lotte."_

"I didn't; I went to the bathroom, Paul. I just made a stop by Dr. Cullen first."

_"Because I needed another reason to be mad at you. You went and talked to a vampire without me there!"_

"I was in a hospital full of people, Paul. He couldn't do anything to me." His eyes narrowed a little more. "We can have her healthy in a week, Paul. That's all it would take. I want to help her. Who knows she's going to have to wait on that transplant list. This is instantaneous."

_"But you'll have to have surgery too. Did that cross you mind?"_

"No, I just thought I was going to shit a kidney and all our problems would be solved." He frowned at me. "I know what I have to do, but it's not a serious surgery, Paul. People have this done every day. This could be the easiest chance to save her." I could see his resolve wavering.

_"What about you? How am I supposed to handle the two of you being under the knife, Charlotte? I mean, Ari's had more surgeries than I could imagine, but they were always for a good reason, for her health. To keep her living just a little while longer. But you don't need this surgery, Lotte. Have you ever even had a surgery?"_

"Paul, this could be the last one. One surgery in my lifetime, which by the way would not be the first, would be the end of her surgeries for the rest of her lifetime. She would never need to be on dialysis again. She wouldn't need some of her medications. I read about it, Paul; it could help her get more iron and help her anemia. One minor incision and she could be fine!"

The wavering ended, he had decided on a path. But I wasn't sure which one it would be. _"What are the risks for you, Lotte? I mean, Ariana's health is failing as it is What about yours? Are we going to have to worry about you now?"_

"There are no health risks, Paul. I'm a healthy kid; there's nothing wrong with me so there's no reason whyI shouldn't be able to function with just the one kidney. Tons of people live with just one kidney. I can do this without a problem." He ran a tired hand over his face, pinching his nose and holding his hand there like he would rather kill himself than have to make this decision. "Paul, what do you think is going to happen? Like worse case scenario?"

_"You bleed out and I lose you while Ari's body rejects your kidney and she dies."_

"So you're let all alone?" He looked away from me, but ultimately he nodded. He was biting his lower lip, looking like he had just admitted some great national security secret. "Paul, I'm not going to leave you. I love you, remember?" He frowned, still chewing on what I had been saying about getting the surgery. "Hey," I said. "I love you, Paul." His face lit up, but his eyes were still sad.

He pulled me tight to his chest, his chin resting on the top of my head, his hands stroking up and down my back. He was breathing deep, his chest inflating underneath my cheek. I could feel him rumbling, talking when I couldn't hear. It was what Paul always needed. He didn't care if I had anything to say back to him. Paul just needed to say the words, to get them out of his own brain. He pushed me back, his hands holding me away from him. "I can't lose you, Lotte. I can't lose you and I can't lose Ari." I prepared myself. He was going to say no, I knew it. I could feel it down in my bones. He wanted to tell me yes, but he couldn't. The imprint wouldn't let him.

"Paul, there's no reason why I shouldn't have this surgery. We can have everything be fixed in a week." I didn't know how much more I could beg for this.

"What about bills? What about the things that I can't afford?" The money sitting untouched in my bank account was the first thing that leapt to mine. He would never allow me to pay for it, but I would find a way. I would have to if I was going to make this happen. Paul shouldn't have to worry about the bills. He paid for everything else in our lives.

"We'll figure it out, Paul. We can get loans, we can make it happen," I promised. "You're not going to be alone. I'm going to be right here with you. And if we do this, then we can have Ari right here with us too."

There was an uncomfortable pause while I waited for Paul to make up his mind about this before he finally answered me. "Okay, Charlotte. We can do this." I smiled and jumped into his arms, pulling his face down to me and kissing him fiercely. A moan vibrated in his mouth as I stepped on his feet to get closer to him. He pulled back, his cheeks a little flushed, his eyes closed, black lashes lying against his cheeks. With his eyes still shut, he spoke. "I can't lose you, Charlotte. I really can't." I nodded, knowing that he would feel the motion. "What's the next step?"

He opened his eyes and pulled back. "I have a psych evaluation to make sure that I'm not crazy and then some tests. They said that we could get everything ready in a few days. It could be less than a week." His eyes seemed happy as he realized just how close we were to getting everything that he had ever wanted. His worries about the bills and my health had melted away, leaving him with just me. Me and the realization that he would have his sister healthy for the first time in his lifetime; for the first time in _her_ lifetime.

"We should probably tell Ari that this is happening." He looked like he might fall over with joy at the prospect of getting to tell the little bugger about this. She would get to live a long, happy life. "_You_ should probably tell Ariana that this is happening."

"I think it would mean more coming from her brother, Paul." He smiled, his mouth looking like it would never fit back on his face correctly. "Besides, I have to go and let Dr. Cullen know that we're going to go ahead with the surgery."

He balked. "Why?"

"He's the doctor that would have to remove my kidney, Paul." His face went dark as he realized that it was a vampire that would be opening me up. "But he wouldn't be operating on Ari." Somehow I didn't think that made it any better.

Great. I may have just undone everything I had worked to accomplish.


	42. Chapter XLI

**Author's Note: I know that it's a little late. My family confiscated my computer because of my birthday because I "work too hard." Whatever; either way, I wanted to thank you all for your reviews! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XLI**

"You think I'm going to let a _vampire_ operate on you? What if he gets thirsty? Did you think about that, miss genius? He can suck you dry and you won't even know it. Have you lost your mind completely?" He was pacing, his arm tossed up over his head and his mouth moving quickly. Paul had long since learned that yelling at me did him no good. Instead, he spoke at loud volumes but had learned to keep his mouth normal. Ryanne had once said that he was loud, that he caused a scene when he started doing this. What did I care? I couldn't hear it. People should learn to mind their own business.

"Stop it," I said. _"If this was any other doctor, you'd still find a reason to make this difficult. I know that you're worried, Paul. I understand that; but this is what needs to be done. This is what your sister needs. You have given up everything for her; don't stop now." _I would beg him if I needed to. We both knew that Ari needed this kidney.

_"I've never been asked to give up you, Lotte."_

_"No one is asking you to sacrifice me, Paul. I'm giving _**_myself_**_ over for this. She needs this."_ I took a step closer and grabbed his hands so that I could have them on my hips. _"I'm going to tell her and then you can't back out."_ It wasn't a threat; I knew that Ari would be happy about this. We had talked about her getting to the point where she was going to be healthy. She dreamed about all the things that she could do when she didn't have to worry about dying from everything around her.

"You wouldn't do that." I cocked an eyebrow at him and took a step back. The muscles in his arms tightened, the fibers showing through as he held me in place. "I'll tell her." I watched his chest rise and fall slowly. "You go tell the evil monster that we're going to proceed with the surgery."

_"Seriously?"_

"Yes; now go before I chance my mind, okay?" I nodded and stood up on tip toe, glad that I had found someone that I could reach _up_ to with my height. I kissed him lightly, but the hand on my waist flew up to my head, locking me in place. "If anything goes wrong, I'll come to the other side and kill you."

I was practically skipping down the hallway to Dr. Cullen's office. I popped into his office without a knock, knowing that I was rude, knowing that I should have knocked and been polite. But fuck it. I couldn't hear it and Ari was getting a new kidney in a week. _"We're going to go ahead with the procedure."_

The man's immortal face lit up like I had given him to secret to life. _"That's great to here. I'll set up your psychiatric appointment for tomorrow morning and get all the paperwork in motion."_ I nodded, although I couldn't stop myself from smiling at him. I was happy and beaming for several reasons, the most important being Ariana's health woes coming to an end. I told Paul that there was nothing to worry about and a part of me believed that. But the man that was sitting in the chair across from me was not a man. He could kill me at any time if he wanted to. It would be best to keep our relationship civil. Let's not give him a reason to decide to end my life on that operating table.

But I guess we would find out soon. Ari had hardly believed Paul when he told her and then hugged me like I was God himself when I walked into her room. Despite Ariana's protests, we had stayed in her room with her for the next few nights. The nurses said that she'd need to be there for three days minimum and Carlisle had managed to pull some strings and get her admitted for the full week.

The hospital had provided someone that didn't know me to translate for my psych evaluation, to make sure that I knew what I was getting myself into. I don't think the guy understood just how excited I was for Ari to have my kidney. I just wanted her to be healthy. Regardless of how much they understood my motives, I had passed every test that they had thrown at me. Paul had spent the last week visiting with Ari and telling her funny stories while I was getting poked and prodded and asked a million questions.

And the day had finally arrived. I had been admitted the night before the surgery, an IV placed in my hand. Dr. Cullen had arrived to talk to me and check me out, during which Paul sat by my side and growled the entire way. At least, he vibrated and began trembling every time I was touched. _"And then after surgery, we'll get you and Ariana put in the same room."_ I nodded._ "And happy birthday, Charlotte."_

He walked out without another word but the damage was already done. Paul's hand wrapped around my chin and pulled to look at him. "We're doing this surgery on your birthday?" I just nodded. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

"Because this was more important," I said simply.

Paul looked like I'd shot his dog. _"Nothing is more important that the day that your were born Charlotte. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all that you're doing for Ariana, but we could have done the surgery tomorrow or yesterday."_

_"We couldn't actually; I turned eighteen today. Think of it as a celebration of the fact that I'm eighteen." _I smiled. He frowned.

"You couldn't have just gotten a tattoo?" I laughed. The nurse came in a spoke to Paul, but she wasn't facing me for me to understand what she was saying. _"They're ready to take you down for surgery." _I nodded. _"You're only eighteen, Charlotte Rivers. You've got another eighty years to put up with me and call me stupid and yell at me. You've got so much left to do so don't you dare go dying, you hear?"_

_"I never hear." _He glared at me.

_"I'm being serious, Lotte."_

_"I know you are. That's why I try and break the mood every once in a while."_ He frowned and opened his mouth like he was going to say something. _"People have kidney surgeries all the time, Paul. I know you've researched all of this. Stop your worrying, okay? Nothing is going to happen while I'm gone. I love you, Paul."_

He just kissed me. I wasn't going to lie. There was a part of me that wanted him to say the words. He could say the words and I would be sure that it wasn't just me that felt the way that I did. But there was very little that I could do. I knew so much more about him. And Ariana had told me even more than Paul had. I didn't want to push him into saying something that he didn't mean. Pushing him to say it could mean pushing him away. And I'd rather be unsure of what he felt for me than lose him.

But Paul's actions spoke volumes. He had allowed me to move in with him. He'd fought to get me out of what he deemed a bad situation. He'd given me his sister, his home and I know that I had his heart. He just had to give into it as well. I was sure that he loved me. But I was still a girl and I was still human. I just wanted to hear the words. Well... See them. There were only so many men in the world like Paul. Even if you took away the wolf in him, took away the things that he _thought_ made him special, he was still incredible. He was kind and loving and warm and stronger than anyone I had ever met.

Those were my thoughts until the anesthesiologist had started counting and the drugs seeped into my lungs. "One, two, three," I began. I could feel the haziness creeping in around me, surrounding me like a warm blanket. Or like Paul's arms at night, before I fell asleep. He would slip his hand down my flat stomach and kiss the sensitive skin of my neck. But this wasn't nearly as comforting as all of that. "Four, five."

I could feel my tongue getting thicker, the saliva in my mouth getting heavier and sweeter until it was impossible for me to count anymore. I knew that the technicians were worried about me because of the deafness. They thought that I would just stop talking and all of that. But I was giving it my best effort to stay awake, to keep counting. The whole world was pushing down on me, pushing me into the darkness.

And then I was floating.


	43. Chapter XLII

**Author's Note: I am so sorry that once again, I am late. I try so hard not to be. I'm going to get my rear in gear tonight and get myself back on schedule for the next few days so that I can stop disappointing you all. Sorry; enjoy!**

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**Chapter XLII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

_"And happy birthday, Charlotte."_ It was her birthday? It was her fucking birthday and the leech knew? Why the hell did the leech know that it was her birthday? I growled loudly at him, glad that she couldn't hear just how menacing I sounded. He walked out without so much as a hiss.

"It's your birthday?" She nodded, but she didn't seem the least bit remorseful that she was having surgery. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?" I snarled.

"Because this was more important," she replied. My heart stuttered like it normally did when she spoke, but I ignored it this time. Nothing could be more important than the day of her birth. If it wasn't for this day, she wouldn't be here with me; I wouldn't have her.

_"Nothing is more important that the day that your were born Charlotte."_ I wished that she understood just how important she was to me._ "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all that you're doing for Ariana, but we could have done the surgery tomorrow or yesterday."_

_"We couldn't actually."_ Why the hell not?_ "I turned eighteen today. Think of it as a celebration of the fact that I'm eighteen." _She was only just eighteen? It's the reason that she'd been fighting to get this done today. Since they had taken Ari off of dialysis in preparation for the surgery, she couldn't wait very long for the surgery. Tomorrow might actually be too late. Lotte had been _insistent_ that she have the surgery today because she couldn't do it before then. A celebration? I agree; when I turned twenty-one, I'll just have someone cut me open.

"You couldn't have just gotten a tattoo?" I groaned angrily. She giggled. Of course she would. Being deaf, she didn't hear the tone in my voice when I was angry with her.

"Mr. LaHote?" a nurse said as she walked into the room. I nodded. "Miss Rivers needs to get prepped for surgery." I frowned, upset that I wasn't going to see her while she was unconscious and under the knife. But I nodded. "_They're ready to take you down for surgery."_ It was all getting real. She was literally sacrificing body help my sister. I didn't know what to do. But the risks were just as real. She could easily die on that table. A million different things could go wrong and I would never see her again. And she was so young._"You're only eighteen, Charlotte Rivers. You've got another eighty years to put up with me and call me stupid and yell at me. You've got so much left to do so don't you dare go dying, you hear?"_

_"I never hear." _Why did she always have to go there? It was just a slip of the tongue.

_"I'm being serious, Lotte."_

_"I know you are. That's why I try and break the mood every once in a while."_ This was a serious moment. She could _die._ And just as I opened my mouth to tell her so, she lifted her hands and stopped me. That was one of the many things that the imprint had taught me. The deaf girl had taught me to listen to others. _"People have kidney surgeries all the time, Paul. I know you've researched all of this. Stop your worrying, okay? Nothing is going to happen while I'm gone. I love you, Paul."_

It wasn't as great as her saying the words, but knowing that she still felt that for me was great. I wanted so bad to say the words, but it was like my throat closed up. So I used the other part of my mouth instead. I leaned down and kissed her with everything that I had inside of me. She kissed me back but I had to pull away. It felt too much like a goodbye. And I wasn't going to say goodbye to her. Not now, not ever. She kissed me again, just a sweet little peck. And then the nurses were in the room with us, finishing up some final stuff and wheeling her away.

I was pretty sure that I was losing my mind. Both girls were in their own surgeries. With the exception of the brief time that they would spend in the some operating room to transfer Charlotte's kidney, they would be alone. And what was worse was that Lotte would be in the room with a vampire whose greatest desire was to suck her dry. He could say whatever he wanted and claim to have all the self control in the world, but he would still want to kill her. He would still thirst for her. I just had to hope that today wasn't the day that he had a snap.

I wanted to go for a run; I wanted to get out of the fucking hospital for just a brief second. The problem was that every time that I left the room, the wolf in me ran panicked circles in my head. What if one of the girls came out of surgery while I was gone? The odds of Ari being out before Lotte were slim to none. But if Lotte came out and I wasn't here... There was a part of my brain that told me that she wouldn't even know. She'd be asleep still. That was the human part of my brain talking. But the wolf in my head was fighting desperately.

What if Charlotte got out and woke up? She was deaf; she might not have someone there that could talk to her. What if she tried to speak? No; I needed to be here with her when she got out. No amount of running would change that for me. But I needed to move. So I started pacing. I must have signed a million songs while I walked, trying to ignore the stress in y brain. I just kept walking and signing, moving to the ABC's and hoping that I would be able to correct myself. But I spent so much time with my girl that signing had become second nature.

My ears perked up as I heard the quiet squeaking of wheels coming down the hall. I moved out of the doorway, hoping with everything in me that it would be one of my girls. At this point, I didn't care just one. I just needed one of them back with me. "She did well," Dr. Cullen said from the threshold. He stepped out of the way and I watched them wheel in the girl that I would die for. God how I loved this woman. Why couldn't I just tell her? "It was an easy in and out surgery. She'll be fine in just a few weeks," he promised.

He didn't offer his hand out to me like he had the first few times that we had talked about Charlotte getting her surgery. And as much as I didn't want to do it, I had to. I offered my hand out to him. "Thanks for taking care of her, Doc. It'd kind of suck having to kill you in the middle of a hospital," I joked. He clasped my hand and nodded, taking a look back at Lotte before he told me that he'd be back to check on her a little bit later and leaving.

A nurse came before I had a chance to sit down and check on my imprint. Everything looked like it was going well with Ariana. She should be out soon and yet, it wasn't soon enough for me. I wanted them both here. Now. I was tired of waiting; it had been two hours since I had seen Charlotte and almost four since I had seen my sister. I understood that her surgery was going to take longer, that there was more involved in it. I was just selfish enough to want to have her back. At least I wasn't trusting her to the care of a vampire. I nodded at the nurse and thanked her.

As soon as she was out the door, I was sitting on Charlie's bed with her. "Hey baby," I whispered, swiping my hand over her face to push the strands away from her eyes and nose. She hated the way that the soft strands would tickle her nose when they got in her face. "You did it, Lotte," I muttered. "You save my sister's life." There was a part of me that wondered what I was doing? She couldn't hear me when I was conscious. What made me think that she would hear me when she was still recovering from surgery? But I just liked talking to her, getting the words out of my mouth and off my chest. "I thanked the doctor," I admitted. "He may be a lot of things, but he didn't eat you." I chucked, although the sound was a little harsh. "Ari's still in surgery." I bit my lip. "I love you Charlotte. I really do. And I don't know why I can't say it to your face. I don't know. There's something about admitting it to you that just makes it impossible for me to do. But I do love you, Lotte. I just hope your patient enough to hear it," I whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead and then her temple. I didn't want to let her go.

"Isn't that sweet?"

I swiveled around, avoiding the stench and stared at the speaker. "What the fuck are you doing here?"


	44. Chapter XLIII

**Author's Note: I know that I left you all hanging for two whole days. What a terrible person, right? I'm trying to get better about my updating consistency again. Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XLIII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

"I have a right to be here," she spat at me, stumbling a little as she walked into the hospital room.

"You forfeited that right a few years ago when you walked out," I spat back. She honestly looked hurt for a moment, but I couldn't bring myself to regret my words. "How the hell did you even find out where we were in the this place?"

"I still have friends out here, Paul," she slurred drunkenly. "I deserved to know what was going on. I'm still your mother." What was with the return of the mothers? Charlotte and I didn't deserve to deal with this shit.

"You're not; your the surrogate that brought me and my baby sister into the world. You're our genes, but you are _not_ our mother. Let's get that shit fucking clear right now," I snarled, standing directly next to my imprint.

"Don't talk to me like that, Paul LaHote," she snapped back. The alcohol took the real bite out of her words.

"Get out of this room. Now," I growled back, thinking of calling Embry or even the fucking leech doctor to get her out of our lives.

"Your father and I have reconciled, Paul. We've worked things out and we're here to take care of our daughter," she said, stumbling closer.

"She's not yours anymore."

"Excuse me?"

I hadn't been planning on telling anyone, not even Ari. I mean, I figured that I would tell Charlotte because Ariana would be like a daughter to her because of the decisions that I'd made. But Ari was already like a daughter to her, so I didn't really see how it mattered. "In the eyes of the tribe, I am Ariana's legal guardian. I already cleared the entire thing with Billy Black. You guys have no authority over her." I could see that my mother was clearly rattled by the decision that I had made. "I don't know if you really remember anything about me, but I turned eighteen a few months ago. Get out of this room and leave my family alone."

"Your _family_?" she sneered indignantly. "Do you hear this?" she called loudly out the door. My father, who I hadn't see in ages, traipsed his way into the hospital room. Lotte's face puckered as even her unconscious recognized the overwhelming stench of alcohol filling the room. "He wants us to stay away from _his_ family."

Dad snorted. "Yeah, my family. I don't know if you realize what's going on, but _my_ girlfriend is giving _my_ sister, who is technically _my_ daughter in the eyes of the tribe, her kidney. My girlfriend is doing more for your daughter than either of you have done in her entire life. Hell you didn't even want Ariana. God knows that I named her and raised her and took care of her. So yeah, this is my family. And we don't need you two around to poison it. Get out before I do something that I'll regret."

"He doesn't have the balls," Dad said, taking a shaky step towards me. "He wouldn't do anything to his parents."

He was standing chest to chest with me. I was so fucking angry I was lucky that I hadn't phased. My arms were shaking uncontrollably. I honestly believed that if Charlotte was not in this room, if I wasn't consciously aware of the fact that she was right behind me, I would have phased and ripped both of their heads off. "How much you want to bet?" I asked darkly. "You give me one good reason not to knock you on your drunken ass? I don't think that you can. Get out of this hospital and away from my girls before I call the cops."

"When did they become _yours?_" he mocked. "That one is too stupid to form a sound."

"She's deaf, you dick. Now -"

"Of course she is," the woman that should have raised me said. "No one who could hear him would stay with him," she mocked.

I had never hit a girl in my entire life. The closest that I had ever come was fighting with Leah in wolf form. But I was sorely tempted to walk over to the old bitch and break her nose. Instead, I just smiled cruelly at her. "Is that why you walked out on Dad? Tired of hearing him?" Her mouth dropped open, like she hadn't expected me to broach the subject her abandonment. "Get out of here," I commanded again. "And if you come within ten feet of either girl, it'll be the last thing that you ever get a chance to regret," I warned.

My mother must have realized that I was serious. She pulled on my father's arm, both of them taking the long walk of shame. "We're not finished here, Paul," she warned. I just snorted. We were beyond finished. The room still smelled like alcohol, but I couldn't tell if that was because of my heightened sense of smell or because it really smelled like them. I just watched them trip their way out the door, waiting until I saw the door of the hospital swing shut to turn back to Lotte.

"And you wonder why I never talk about them," I sighed. Physically, I could probably run a few dozen miles without breaking. But mentally, I felt like I had run three marathons back to back. As if it wasn't enough that I'd had the stress of Lotte and Ariana being in surgery for the majority of the day, now I had to worry about what stupid stunts my parents were going to pull. And I had revealed what I had most hoped to be a secret for me and Charlotte only. I didn't need anyone knowing that Ariana didn't actually have parents, that her man-whore of a brother was the person that was responsible for her. It was hard enough being the kid who grew up with shitty parents; I knew about that one well enough. No; I wouldn't put Ari through that.

"Mr. LaHote?" a nurse said from the doorway. I jumped upright, torn between the desire to check on my sister and the need to stay with my imprint. "Your sister is out of surgery; we'll be bringing her down in just a few moments." I nodded curtly. "Normally I would recommend that you watch over her carefully, but with two of them," she looked around me at Lotte, "I would recommend that you get some help. Do you have someone that can help you?"

I snorted. I had an entire Pack that was more than willing to take care of my imprint and my sister. And that was just the guys. We didn't need to talk about the girls that were dying to come and help me out. I'd probably only let Kim and Ryanne over... Maybe Emily. The girls didn't need to be overwhelmed. "When can, uh, I, uh... When can I expect the first bill?" I asked. Charlotte was right that we needed to get the surgery over with, but that didn't give me an answer to _how_ I was going to pay for this. I had used most of my money to keep the house afloat. I had next to nothing left to help my sister.

The nurse frowned at me. "Dr. Cullen said that everything was already paid for," she said. The leech had paid for this? There was no fucking way that I was allowing that to happen.

But any anger that I had about it was momentarily stuffed down when Ari's bed made it through the door. I had been so preoccupied with how I could pay the Doc back and not kill him or act like I liked him that I hadn't even heard her bed coming into down the hall. She had just as many tubes and wires wrapped around her arms with needles poking into her veins as Lotte did. But I didn't mind; that was what was keeping her alive. "We'll be back in to check on them in a few hours," the same nurse said. I hadn't even realized that she was still standing there. I just nodded at her and turned to go check on my baby sister.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead, feeling the heat in her forehead that let me know that she was still alive. "You did good, Ariana," I praised. If she was awake, she'd be telling me that she hadn't even done any of the work. "I love you, Ari," I whispered to her too. Something small and hard flew at the back of my head, but the force was very small. I wheeled around, thinking it was one of the guys.

Charlotte's milk chocolate eyes stared at me, a little hazy and fuzzy from sleep but open and alert. "Lotte," I breathed, crossing the short distance between the beds and settling next to her. "You're awake," I whispered. She blinked hard, like she couldn't quite figure out what I was saying. I scooted up her mattress and reached out for her. Even in her haziness she recognized what I wanted and leaned into my arms. Her nose found my neck and breathed deeply like I would when I needed to calm myself. I smiled a little and let her hold me before holding her away from me. "Are you okay?"

_"Tired."_ At least, that's what I think the sign was. It was kind of like slurred speech. _"Ari?"_ I laughed. Forever concerned about everyone else.

"She's right here," I moved out of her way so that she could see my sister. She nodded but I could see her sleep crowding in on her again. "Get some rest, Lotte. You'll have enough tie with us during recovery you'll be sick of us."

Her lips tweaked but she allowed me to settle her back on the bed. This was my family. And I would be damned if my parents got to be a part of it ever again.


	45. Chapter XLIV

**Author's Note: I don't really have much to say except that it's short and not very action packed. I hope you all enjoy! Love and thanks!**

**Chapter LXIV**

I was so tired, I couldn't bring my hands up form enough signs to get Paul's attention. But an eraser was sitting on the table next to me. I reached over, stretching the tubing in my hands, and grabbed it. I lobbed it blindly, hoping that I would make it to hit the back of his head. Even as I tried to see if it hit its mark, my eyes were drooping closed. No; I had to stay awake and talk to him.

He turned around and tok notice of me. "Lotte." I tried to smile at him, but all of my muscles felt like they'd had weight added to them. "You're awake." If I had been able to lift my hands, I would have teased him about say stupid things like that. Clearly I was awake. He sat himself on my bed and reached out. I gathered all the energy I had left and heaved myself up. He supported all of my weight, resting my face in the warm expanse of his neck. He held me close for a few moments, letting me breathe and my abdomen settle. "Are you okay?"

I managed to lift one hand. _"Tired."_ It wasn't the right sign... I mean, it was. But one handed probably made it more difficult for him to understand. But there was something more important than my sign language. _"Ari?"_

"She's right here." I was nodding when I could see the sleeping girl's face. I wanted to know if she was okay. I wanted to know that all of this was worth something and she would be okay for the rest of her life. "Get some rest, Lotte. You'll have enough time with us during recovery, you'll be sick of us." I really don't think that it was possible for me to get sick of him. I loved him and adored Ariana like she was my own sister.

He was laying me back against the mattress, but I was too tired to fight him. His eyes shone with some kind of agitation that I couldn't place. Underneath the anger and nerves was a steely hint of determination. I guess we would have something to talk about when I was awake again.

I would swear on the lives of everyone that I held dear that it was only a few moments later that I felt warm tingles coursing through me. Rough skin was rubbing against my cheek. And just from the feelings running through me, I knew who it was. Paul. It would always be Paul sitting here waiting for me. I fought the sandpaper on my eyes and forced them open. Sure enough, there was Paul.

He was smiling at me like he'd just won the lottery. He leaned down before I was fully conscious and pressed a soft kiss against my forehead. I smiled and tilted my head until his lips were over my nose. I smiled at him, wanting him to kiss me, but he wouldn't do it. I was getting frustrated, wishing that he would just quit playing hard to get. But I quickly realized why; Ari was sitting on the other side of the room, still unconscious. I held up one finger, not even using a real sign and hoping that Paul would understand what I was trying to say. Who was I kidding? The boy understood me every time that I tried to talk to him.

"Just one." He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. It was passionate or hot, but slow and simmering. It was just a nice open mouth kiss, no roughness, no tongue. He held my mouth in his and slowly feasted on my lips, pulling my lower lip into his mouth. I think the most unfortunate thing was that I didn't have the energy to keep going. I was struggling to kiss him back, my mouth feeling like it was being dragged down by an imaginary string. Paul smiled against my lips and pulled away, pulling my lower lip with him.

I turned to see the erratic motion on the heart monitor. I couldn't help but be glad that I was deaf at the moment. It jumped and bleeped at the top; I'm sure it sounded great. Not. Paul wrapped his long fingers around my jaw and pulled my mouth back to his. It wasn't nearly as deep as the last kiss had been, more like a peck than anything else. _"I thought you said one."_ I was amazed that my hands had stayed up for so many words.

"I couldn't help myself." He was laughing, shaking the bed with the force of his joy. "Ariana is doing fine." I was so glad that he was able to read my mind in his own way. "The doctors came in and check on both of you. They said that you should both be ready for release in a few days. You'll be out sooner than Ari; they want to keep her a few days longer to make sure he body doesn't reject the kidney."

_"It won't."_ He smiled.

_"What makes you so sure?" _

_"I know things."_ He laughed and leaned down to kiss my forehead. And then he was standing, having shot up from my side and spun around. Right; he was upset about something before I'd fallen asleep last night... or earlier. Who really knew?

I peered around him to see Sam and Emily walked in with two bouquets of flowers and some balloons. _"They wouldn't let all the guys in."_ I smiled at Emily. _"But they'll come in pretty soon. Everyone's really excited to see you."_

_"Hey, Little." _I raised a hand at Sam. He had taken to calling me little because I was the smallest eater at the table. And it was the only sign that he could consistently remember when he'd first started learning sign language. All the guys were pretty good at it now; I mean, they all struggled in their own ways but we could all communicate. _"How are you feeling?"_

_"Good."_

_"You let us know if he's not taking care of you. I'll come kick his ass."_ I laughed. In what world would it be that Paul didn't take good care of me? There was no such place. The boy was determined to keep me from any and all harm.

_"I'll be sure to let you know." _Paul turned a glare on me, but his eyes were still lit up with joy. Emily was arranging flowers around the room. I could see her mouth moving as she muttered, probably to Ariana. Paul was talking to Sam about something or another; I assumed it was wolf stuff. Penny appeared in the doorway, but didn't walk inside. I motioned her in, catching the attention of Paul. He smiled at Penny, although it wasn't really more than a twitch of his lips. She stepped inside and looked over at Ari.

I felt bad that I hadn't been around Penny lately. I had been so busy building my life with Paul and I didn't want her to think that I forgot about her. She was my family; the only family that I had left that cared about me for the person that I was. Maybe it was about time that we had our ceremonial dress burning of all the fifties dresses that I hadn't worn since shortly after I met Paul. _"How are you feeling?"_ She looked so nervous standing at the foot of my bed. I think she was actually afraid that one of the Pack might kick her out. _"Do you know how stupid you are? You could have died."_

_"Don't start, Penny. I did something great. I save a kid's life today."_ I knew better than most everyone else that Penn's life had sucked for a long time. After she started fighting for emancipation, she moved out and found her own place to live. She resented my father for not wanting to adopt her. She wouldn't let anyone else into her house. Anyone but me, that is. _"You would do the same if it was me that needed it."_

_"That's how you feel about that kid?"_ I wished that I could tell her just how much sign language my friends understood. I could see Paul's jaw clenching with anger. Sam had his head cocked to the side as he fought to decipher the words. Emily just wouldn't look at my cousin. I nodded in response to her question though. _"Good."_ I wasn't sure how to handle that. _"I'm glad that you found people that you care about, Charlie. You needed them."_

I opened my arms to her and, just as I hoped, she walked up and hugged me close. The girl wasn't prone to random acts of affection. _"I have to get to work."_ I nodded. She turned to Paul. _"Let me know if you need anything for either of the girls. I'll help out in any way that I can."_ She looked down at her feet and walked out the door without another word. Emily and Sam followed shortly after while Paul check on Ari, who hadn't woken up.

"Hey Paul," I said, my throat feeling rough against my skin. He turned back immediately. I pointed to the dark haired woman glaring at me in the doorway. Her purse was clutched tight to her side as she stared at me and then flickered her eyes to Ari. _"Who's that?" _His eyes darkened instantly.


	46. Chapter XLV

**Author's Note: I feel like it's about time for this chapter. Happy belated Memorial day to all the men and women who fight for out country. Your sacrifices are appreciated! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XLV**

Paul's face was deadly, the scariest that I had ever seen. I cowered back into the pillows. Paul was standing between me and Ariana, his entire form quivering. I would never really say it out loud because it's not how I actually feel, but it was moments like this that I hated being deaf. The majority pack slowly filtered into the room, bumping the lady outside the doors. Seth smiled at me a little shyly and stood up on my left side, opposite Jacob. Jared and Embry were on either side of Ariana's bed. Paul and Sam were in between the two of us, daring the female to come into the room. Quil and Leah were in the room too, but they were closer to the walls and out of my line of sight.

Who was this woman? "I am your mother and I have right to be here." Whose mother? Paul said that his mother didn't come around anymore. She'd left. "Leave me alone with my daughter, Paul." Sam's hand came up to rest on Paul's shoulder, restraining him. I watched him lean in and say something into Paul's ear, but Paul immediately shook his head. The more that I watched the older lady in front of me, the more I realized that she did _look_ like Paul. Or, I guess Paul looks like her. She was his mother; she was the woman that had hurt him so badly.

"I don't care who she is! That is my daughter." Paul's mouth stretched wide as he shouted back at her. Knowing Paul, he was probably saying that Ari was not anything that his mother should be concerned about. "You can't take her away from me, Paul." He pointed towards the hospital exit, his mouth open again. I watched two men in black outfits come up and grip his mother on either side of her and dragging her towards the exit.

Paul turned around to face his friends. "Thanks, guys. Leah, you should go; I know that you want to get back to Nate." She nodded curtly. I remembered that there was something else going on with Nate, that he'd been sick. Emily and Sam both came up to kiss my cheek and forehead and say their goodbyes. I waited patiently until everyone was gone and then I just stared at Paul expectantly. _"You feeling good?"_

_"I feel fine; you how some things to explain though."_ He flinched a little. _"Who was that Paul? And why did she want to see Ariana?"_

_"She... She's my mom. That's where my dad has been the last few weeks. He went to go find my mother."_ His face was beyond angry. He looked like he was ready to kill. _"They came in earlier while you were still asleep. I made them leave because they shouldn't be here. They're not her parents; they never were." _

I bit my lip, arguing with myself. Part of my brain told me to keep my mouth shut. I wasn't actually a part of this family. The truth was that it was Ariana and Paul. But I loved Paul with ever fiber of my being and I loved Ariana like the little sister that I had always wanted. I had to do what was best for both of them. _"Is that your call to make?" _His eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open.

"What the fuck are you trying to say?" I could see the anger radiating in his eyes. I was going to have to explain myself and fast. Paul was going to leave me if I wasn't careful.

_"Just listen to me, okay? Promise."_ He nodded but his eyes were still guarded. _"I know that you want to protect her and that you don't to risk her getting hurt, especially right after the surgery. But this is Ariana's life. It's just like when we talked about sheltering her. It's the same principle."_

_"It's not; you don't know what my father is like, Lotte."_

_"I don't need to."_ He looked more confused than every, but he wasn't angry anymore. _"Ariana knows you father. She also knows that the only reason that she is stuck in the hospital room is because your mother really didn't want her at all. Do you really think, given the choice, she'd chose to be with them over you?" _He shook his head, his eyes softening. _"Give her the choice, Paul. She deserves the right to say that she doesn't want them." _

Paul sank himself down onto my mattress and sighed, resting his head in his hands. He was shaking his head, raking his fingers through his cropped hair every so often. _"Do you have to be right about everything?"_ I laughed out loud at that one. _"I'm serious! You are right about _**_everything_**_. If it wasn't for you, my sister wouldn't have been living her happy life with tennis and school. She wouldn't have a new kidney. She would be waiting on that damn donor list. Thank you, Lotte."_

_"You're welcome."_ He leaned down to kiss me, but just as he had before, he almost immediately jerked up and swiveled around to Ariana's bed. I looked too. We were both rewarded with the sight of the little girl opening her eyes for the first time in what felt like ages. It kind of sucked that it was right after all of our friends had left, but at the moment, all I could think about was the fact that she had opened her eyes. _"Go on." _I nudged Paul off the bed with a gentle jerk of my knee.

He rushed over to Ariana's bed and settled himself there. I was overwhelmed with love for him. He was so hard headed and so freaking stubborn, he could drive me to insanity. He was angry, hot headed, and an overall asshole all the damn time. But there was a side of Paul that not many people got to see. In fact, I was pretty sure that it was only me and Ariana that got to see this side of him. He was sitting there on the edge of her mattress, all six and a half feet of him, stroking his baby sister's hair and smiling down at her like she was his reason for living.

One day, God willing, he would make the best father in the world. I mean, he'd been practicing since he was a child. He'd raised Ariana all of her life. He was like Penny in some respects. He was hot headed and angry all the time, but no one knew why they were so angry. Penny - - she had her own issues that she needed to work out. I honestly couldn't wait for the day that she realized how amazing she truly was. I didn't know many seventeen-year-olds that could do all the stuff that Penny has done in her short life. Paul had his own anger. His parents, the people that should have been there to protect him, hadn't taken care of him. They had left him with his sister as his daughter. He had to take care of a child when he was still one himself. He had every right to be angry.

But if Paul could heal, I had hope that Penny could work past all the things that had happened to her and open herself up to someone else. She only had me and like she'd said, I was growing closer and closer to Paul and Ariana. I was moving on with my life. I needed to make sure that she had someone or at the very least felt welcome around my new family. _"You're thinking hard."_ I smiled up at him when I realized that I had been staring over at him and Ari. _"She fell asleep again. What's on your mind?"_

_"Penny."_ He quirked a face and made his way over to me. _"She doesn't really have anyone there for her. I was - -"_ I had to stop because my immediate fear was that I was overstepping my boundaries. Who was I to invite someone into Paul's home like it was my place? I had never paid for a damn thing for him. Well, I paid for the surgery. But that didn't count because that was actually for Ariana and Paul had no idea that I was the one that did it.

_"I've thought about doing something more consistent for Ari. She deserves to have a family like the rest of her friends. I'm thinking about doing a family dinner night on the days when she doesn't have tennis. Just having you and me and her to eat dinner."_ What did that have to do with Penn?_ "Penn is like your sister, Lotte. Which makes her family too. Invite her to our home, make sure that she knows we're always there for her. She doesn't have to rely on just you. She has me, too." _

How had I gotten Paul LaHote? There were so may rumors about him, about his adventures with different girls. I never asked Paul about the rumors because that wasn't the Paul that I knew. _This_ man here was the Paul that I loved and I knew for a fact that any of the girls that Paul had ever been with had seen this side of him. And who knew the value that this man would put on family?"I love you, Paul," I whispered. It was so hard to keep from saying it.

He crossed the room and leaned down, pressing a sweet, tender kiss to my lips. He pulled back, passion burning in his eyes. I was pretty sure my heart stopped as my eyes watched the lips that had chest been on mine. "I love you too."


	47. Chapter XLVI

**Author's Note: I don't really have much to say except thank you for all the support. I know that I have been a little crazy with my updates lately. I feel ****_so_**** bad you guys don't even understand. But I hope you all enjoy tonight's chapter. Love and thanks!**

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**Chapter XLVI**

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even turn my head to see what my heart monitor was showing about my heart. But I could feel it beating out of control in my chest. _"What did you say?" _I managed to get my hands to convey. Paul smiled, his laughter shaking my entire bed. I wondered how loud he was laughing at me.

_"I must be sucking at my enunciation, today." _His laughter boomed again. His mouth curved in a broader smile. _"I love you, Charlotte Rivers." _My breath caught in my throat as he signed the words. "Okay, Lotte? I love you." I could feel my lip shaking as I fought for control of my emotions. _"You could say something."_

I didn't know what to say or what to sign. I didn't even know how to react. He hadn't said it...ever. I had said it so many times now and he had never done anything more than kiss me after the words left my mouth. In all honesty, I had resigned myself to never seeing the words from him. I understood, too; I really did. I wasn't one of the girls who was saying it because she was afraid that her boyfriend would leave her. Paul had loved his mother more than anything in his entire world. And then she had left him with a drunk of a father and a sick infant sister. Who wouldn't be skeptical about love after all that? So I couldn't tell him how happy I was to know that he felt the same. All I could do was cry.

Immediately, he was lying beside me on the small hospital cot, his feet hanging off the side at an angle. I could feel his vocal cords hissing as he hushed me and pulled me closer. My stomach and back stung a little as I moved myself closer to him. "What's with the tears?" I smiled a little, but I could bring the tears to stop. I couldn't even lift my hands to tell him how happy I was to know that he loved me. I knew that the imprint bond wouldn't let him hate me, ever. And his actions said that he loved me. But to see him say the words, to watch his soft lips form the three words that meant that he couldn't go back, meant more to me than anything that he had ever said before. "What did I do?"

I laughed out loud at that one. Like there was anything that Paul could do to make me cry like this. I guess there was something that he could do; he could tell me that he loved me. "I'm okay," I managed to choke out. My throat felt like I had swallowed sandpaper. _"I'm just surprised." _

"Didn't start to think that I wouldn't say it, did you?" He was still laughing, but I could see that he was serious. His eyes were deadly serious.

_"I understood." _I didn't know how to promise him that it wasn't upset that it took him so long. I just wanted to know that he felt it at some point. _"I just had to be patient enough to wait for it, you know?"_ He smiled brightly, obliterating the sun with the grin on his face. He rolled on his side and gently turned me on my side so that I was facing him. His hand dug through my hair and cradled my head, lifting my head and placing it on his bicep. The hand didn't move though, playing with the short wispy strands at the nape of my neck. There was one question that was burning in the back of my mind, though. I needed the answer. _"Paul?"_ His eyebrows lifted. _"Why now?"_

He sighed and snuggled me a little closer, being ever careful of my pain. "My mom and dad came in here when you were still asleep." His eyes drifted closed as he tried not to get upset with the things that had happened while I was still unconscious. "I know that it sounds stereotypical and stupid, but I was kind of afraid to let you know how I felt. What if we were like my parents? My dad loved my mom with everything that he had in him and she still left. What if we were like your parents? What if I couldn't handle something and left you with the pain that your mom left you dad with? I was scared of what would happen if I admitted how much I loved you." I nodded. I understood that; it was a fear that I had too. "But when my mom walked in here and pretended like she was this great parents that had always been there, I realized that you were nothing like her."

My eyes narrowed as I thought about that. What had I done that had made him think that I would be anything like his mother? "It's not that you ever acted like her or anything," he said immediately. Damn imprint bond. I swear this boy could read my mind. "I don't know why I always compared you two, but I did. Sometimes I didn't even realize what I was doing. It would just happen, you know?" I just nodded again. "But my mother came in here and she kept saying that I had to let her see her daughter. That she was still our mother. And I realized that you were more of a parent than my mom had ever been. If you were ever going to leave, then I don't think that you would have given Ari a kidney.

"I love you, Charlotte. I'm sorry that I couldn't say it earlier. But I promise you that you'll hear it every single day for the rest of your life." I let him tug gently at my hair until I had my face angled up to stare at him. His lips slanted over mine, kissing me with everything that he had always felt but never said.

_"It's not fair."_ He looked down at me, scared about what I was about to sign. _"You get to say things like that when we're stuck in the hospital for the next few days."_ He laughed in relief and pulled me closer to his chest. I hissed in pain and he immediately released. _"I didn't say let go."_ He chuckled again and gently wiggled his way closer to me. _"You do realize that I'll never hear you say it, right?"_

"You say that every time I use a phrase like that." I smiled wrapping his arm around me like a blanket. "Go to sleep, Little Lotte." I laughed as I watched his lips form the words. "We'll get to head home soon." I let my head rest against his arm, my forehead falling somewhere on his clothed sternum as I dreamt of all the little children that Paul and I would one day have.

I was a little sore the next day. Dr. Fang, as Paul had taken to calling Dr. Cullen, came in to check on me after a few short hours of sleep. He proclaimed that I was doing well enough to start to try walking around. He extended a hand to me that had Paul shaking like I had rarely seen before. _"If Mr. LaHote will remain by your side and you move slowly, I'm sure the two of you could manage," _Dr. Cullen conceded. Smart move for the vampire. Paul would have killed him if he had tried to touch me.

As son as he was out, Paul held his hand out to me. I was extremely stiff, which was to be expected, I guess. One of my hands rested in Paul's while the other clung to his same arm. His other large hand wrapped around my upper arm and lifted me gently until I was sitting completely upright. "Careful." He was so ridiculous when it came to me getting hurt. His huge hands wrapped around my ankles and helped me swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I braced my hands on his broad shoulders while he hooked me under my armpits and helped me stand.

"Oh great, Charlie gets to stand up. But let's leave the thirteen-year-old lying in bed a little longer," Ari said with a smile on her face. I stuck my tongue out at her and looked up at Paul.

"You good?" I nodded, wanting to tell him that I was ready to move. But I couldn't remove my hands from his shoulders because I was afraid that I might hit the ground. "Okay, let's go."

I hadn't realized that he was moving me towards the hallway until he was turning his head towards someone in the waiting room. Embry bounded from the waiting room with a light smile on his lips. "Embry's going to watch Ari while we go for a walk."

"You are leaving her here?" Paul didn't trust Ariana to anyone. There were too many complications.

"I have to leave her here for three days when I take you home. A little practice never hurt nobody."

And just like that it dawned on me. I would have three days at home...alone...with Paul LaHote. Recovery was starting to sound great.


	48. Chapter XLVII

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that there was no chapter yesterday. My mom had surgery and I was stuck in the hospital all night. I'm really sorry, but I hope you all enjoy tonight's! Love and thanks to all.**

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**Chapter XLVII**

Ariana was less than happy when I was released from the the hospital. She asked if we could stay with her, just sleep in the room with her. I locked my hands down by my sides to avoid begging Paul to let me go home. I just wanted to have a few days with Paul. Alone. We rarely ever got time alone. It was literally like we were parents. In the last few weeks especially, we had spent so much time prepping for Ari's surgery and making sure that the house was what it should be for her that we had barely done more than crash down in out bed at night. I just wanted a few nights of uninterrupted bliss.

"No, Ariana." The look on Paul's face was gentle, but his eyes were serious._ "Lotte has been here for a few days. You know how much you like to go home after staying in the hospital. She wants to go home too."_ I was shocked. I never thought that he would actually leave Ari here in this hospital by herself. _"Some of the guys said that they'd stay here with you at night. Charlotte and I will be here in the morning, every morning, until we can go home with you."_

"Seriously, Paul?" She frowned and narrowed her eyes, wanting to go home with the two of us. Paul nodded his head. He left my side and leaned over to kiss his sister's forehead in a fatherly manner. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Ari's chest rose and fell in one heavy motion as she sighed. "Okay, okay; I get it." I stepped up closer to her. "Thank you, Charlie." She said the same thing every day. It was like she couldn't imagine that I had _given_ her a piece of my body. I don't think she understood just how much I loved her as a sister. "I love you."

_"I love you, too, Ari. We'll see you in the morning."_ She pouted a little but caught the look on Paul's face. He had one eyebrow raised and his eyes were staring dangerously at her. She smile immediately and wished us both goodbye. _"You're really leaving her here?" _

Paul smiled and pulled me against his side as we made our way to the car. _"I'll check on her before we go to bed or something."_ Or something? What happened to Paul LaHote? _"But the guys said that they'd make sure that someone was here with all the time. I don't see a reason why I have to be here with her. She's got nurses and friends that will be watching over her twenty-four/seven." _He was really learning to let go. _"Besides, I've got another girl that I need to take care." _I smiled up at him. "I don't know if you heard, but I love her."

I laughed and opened my mouth to remind him that I would never hear. Instead, he leaned down and kissed me ardently, sucking the words right from my lips. I said it to remind myself more than anything else. I made a point not to use the phrases that included hearing terms. It was something that I couldn't do and I didn't see a point in allowing myself to be a part of that culture. I constantly reminded myself that no matter how much I wanted it sometimes, I would never be hearing. And in all honesty, I really didn't want to be. But there were moments where it became difficult.

I would never hear my children cry or laugh. I would never actually _hear_ Paul tell me that he loved me. I would never knew what his heartbeat sounded like underneath my ear. There were so many things that I would miss out on in my lifetime. It was important that I remind myself of the things that I would be missing. And I guess reminding Paul in the meantime would be a good idea, too.

His hand slid down my back and guided me towards his truck. He held the door open for me and kept his hands on my waist when I slowly lifted my feet. I was still sore. I could do all the same things that I had always done... It just took me a while longer to get it done. Things like lifting my leg high enough to reach to step on Paul's truck, for example. But he was ever patient. He wrapped his hands around the spot below my rib cage and practically lifted me up to get me into the truck.

I slowly twisted my abdomen to grab the seatbelt and then twisted the other way to buckle it while Paul made his way around the truck. He smiled at me the moment that he was all buckled, taking my left hand in his right and starting the quick drive to his house. Once we were away from the hospital, I kind of wanted to turn around. I kind of wanted to go back to Ariana. She was like our child. I couldn't imagine just leaving her in the hospital. It had seemed like such an easy thing to do when we were walking out the door, but now that we were almost home I felt guilty.

Paul squeezed my hand firmly. I looked up at him. "Stop it." I furrowed my brows. "You're worrying about Ari and you don't need to be. She'll be fine." I slumped my head back against the seat. If Paul could avoid worrying about his baby sister, I could do the same, I reasoned. I sighed heavily and shifted Paul's hand so that our fingers were threaded together.

All too soon we were at the house, but it wasn't Paul's. The entire place had been painted from its deep brown to a cream color, the door a chocolate brown and standing out from the rest of the house. The porch had been swept, Paul's porch swing having been repaired. The cushions had been covered in a striped blue and orange and green fabric, matching the beautiful flowers that were in the new planter boxes. _"What happened here?"_ I asked when I was out of the car and standing in front of it. Paul slipped my hand in his and gave it a slight squeeze.

"I figured it was time for this place to get a face lift. With my dad being the person that was in charge, it was hard for me to get this place to be the way that I would like it to be." He paused and made sure that I caught all his words. "The guys helped me work on some stuff when you and Ari were asleep."

_"You left us in the hospital!"_ I signed it with an angry expression on my face, but I was just playing. The smirk on his face said that he knew that.

"When someone else was with you guys. Someone always stayed with you two. But yes, I left you guys in the hospital so that I could come and get our home ready." I didn't miss the way that his lips formed the words _our_. It was my place, too. He considered this my home as much as I did. "There's other stuff inside, babe. Come on."

He tugged on my arm but quickly dropped my arm when he realized that it hurt my side to have him pull, even lightly. He stopped me when I got to the front door and dug into his pocket. I was fairly certain he wasn't about to propose, we could both agree that we weren't ready for that just yet. But I had no idea what he was on about until he pulled the little thing of his pocket. He dangled the key from the keychain in front of my face. "I had the locks changed after I found out that my mother and father were back in town." That would explain the new keys. "I wanted you to be the first person who got one." It was just a little gesture but it meant more to me than I think he realized. "Slowly," he warned then. What was he talking about?

He dipped at the waist then, his arm coming up behind my thighs, I leaned back on the arm that was behind my back. I wanted to jump, to have his arms wrapped around me. But the tightness of my newly stitched skin dictated patience. So I rested all my weight on him and let him gentle and slowly pull me up to his chest. He looked down at me with a bright smile that rivaled anything that I had ever seen as he opened the door and walked through the threshold.

I hadn't been expecting him to have redone the entire house. In reality, he hadn't. It was just cleaner. The couch had new throw pillows and looked like it had been vacuumed thoroughly. The kitchen looked like someone had go through the effort of scrubbing each surface. But what caught my attention the most was the freshly painted white door that I had never seen before. Paul made short work of that door, balancing me in one strong arm while he opened it.

The room was a white color with a light tinge of pink to it. The descending sun's pink and orange lights bounced off the walls, casting beautiful lights over the room. The bedspread was a rusty-maroon color red, orange and silver throw pillows gleaming up at me. It was clean and new, spacious. I looked up at Paul with teary eyes. "Welcome home."


	49. Chapter XLVIII

**Author's Note: WARNING: There's some adult content ahead. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XLVIII**

I lifted my hands from my lap, looking around the room as I signed. _"What is this?"_ I knew it wasn't the right thing to say, but it was the only thing that would come to mind at the moment. Paul's heart thudded against my arm as his laughter shook me. I looked up at him to find him smiling down at me.

"I think you're smart enough to recognize a bedroom when you see one, Lotte."

"_But where did this come from, Paul?"_ I managed to say. It was beautiful. The walls were sparkling white, the pink color in it shining like a pearl in the right light. The colors on the bed were feminine but still dark enough to be manly. This was the room that Paul wanted to share with me.

"I built it." I stared at him like he was phasing into a wolf before my eyes. "Like we talked about." His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me for a little while. "You don't like it? We can paint it a different color or something, Charlotte."

I laughed out loud. _"It's beautiful, Paul. I - - I love it. Don't change a thing."_ He took a few steps, his shins bumping with the bed. It was a small room, barely housing the king sized bed. But more important than that, Paul would actually fit on this bed. He gently laid me on the bed, his hands sliding away from my body and down my sides, my thighs, my calves, until his hands were sliding down my feet and pulling my shoes off my feet. I watched him step on the heels of his shoes and pulled them off. He crawled up on the bed beside me, stretching his long frame out and reveling in the fact that he actually fit. _"When did you do this?"_

"I started a few nights after we talked about it and got the big stuff done while you were sleeping." He propped his head up and looked at me with eyes full of love. _"I'm glad you like it."_ I think it may have stopped my heart when I saw the look on his face. He was just so beautiful, so different from anyone that I had ever met.

_"You know that you don't have to do things for me all the time, right? I mean, don't get me wrong, the house is beautiful, but I loved it the way it was before."_ I didn't want him to think of me as one of those high maintenance girls.

His long arm wrapped over my waist and slid me over the lightweight duvet until my hips were pressed against him. "_I_ didn't like the way that things were in the house. I've always wanted to build another room, but I didn't have a reason. Secondly, I _love_ doing this for you and Ari. I like making you guys happy, knowing that I am the reason that the two of you are smiling." He looked down at the red cover, trying not to let me see the tint to his cheeks. He was so funny sometimes. Like I didn't want to know that this was the way that he felt.

I knew that he wouldn't want me to say anything to him about his words. That wouldn't be manly at all. I craned my neck to meet his mouth with mine. He pressed my shoulder lightly until I was lying back against the soft feather pillows behind me. Paul rested all of his weight on his forearms as he feasted on my mouth. His lips were large and soft around my mouth, coaxing me and tempting me to wrap my hands around his short hair. His tongue flicked my upper lip lightly. I opened up to him, wanting to give him everything I had in me.

He had done nothing but care for me from the moment that we had met. Even in the early days, when I didn't know about the imprint and the wolves, he had skipped school and came to my home to check on me when I got sick. When my parents had blown up at me, when my mother had hit me, he had taken me away from my house. He found me somewhere to live, someone to stay with. He'd given me a separate family to care for me. And most importantly, he'd told me that he loved me. After everything that we'd gone through, all the things that we'd had to deal with, all the issues that he had in his lifetime, Paul had actually told me that he loved me.

And if the words weren't enough, he remodeled his entire home and called it _ours_. He rested more of his weight against me as he shifted himself onto one hand. The other traveled up my side in a gentle caress. Well, it did until I hissed and flinched, the small incisions stinging a little. Paul pulled away immediately, sitting on the farthest corner of the bed. "Shit, I'm sorry, Lotte. I forgot." He looked so pained I didn't know what to say. I really was fine.

_"I just wasn't expecting that, Paul."_ I was more than content with what we'd been doing. I'd actually been enjoying it, honestly. I wanted more than just a simple kiss now. I wanted Paul. _"Come here."_

_"You just had surgery, Lotte. I don't want to hurt you."_

_"If you don't want to hurt me, then come back here."_ I just wanted him. _"Now."_ I felt like one of those spoiled girls, sweeping my eyebrows to my hairline and staring at him. Paul slowly crawled his way down to my spot on the bed and sat next to me, chastely kissing my cheek. _"Seriously?"_

_"I don't want to hurt you, Lotte."_

_"I understood the first time."_

_"Good, then you understand why I don't want to -"_

I ignored him and pushed him down onto the bed. Careful to move slowly, I placed my knees on either side of his hips and leaned down. I grabbed his wrists and pulled them up to my hips where he could actually squeeze me like I knew he wanted to. His fingers tightened on the skin, but it didn't hurt this time. I pushed down on his shoulders and captured the vibrating moan in his mouth. I put myself in charge and thrust my tongue into his mouth. He groaned again, the feeling of it sending shivers from my mouth and down my neck and spine. I nipped on his bottom lip feeling his hips jerk underneath me. "Charlotte -"

There was a warning look on his face. I could see it but I ignored it, sliding my hands down his chest, over his well chiseled chest to the waistband of his pants. I carefully slid my hand over the waistband, working blindly at the button. "Charlotte, stop." He tossed his head against pillows with a heavy sigh. "You're killing me."

He had said the statement a few weeks ago when I had dressed myself up for bed and thrown my half-naked self at him. But I thought he'd said no because he didn't want me to be hurt because he hadn't said the words. There was nothing holding him back now. He'd said it multiple times now, telling me that he loved me more than anything else in the world. So why was he pulling back now. "What's wrong?" I asked, trying to avoid feeling rejected.

"I - - I," he pushed himself upright so that he was sitting and I was staring straight at him instead of looking down. _"I don't want you to think that I said it because I want sex, Charlotte. That's not why I told you that I love you."_ The thought hadn't even crossed my mind, actually. _"I love you because I love you, Lotte." _

_"I know that, Paul. It never even occurred to me that you wanted sex when you said it, Paul."_ I was only being honest with him.

_"We can wait as long as you want, Charlotte. We can wait until you want to do it." _I bit my lip and looked away from him, hoping that he would think of it as me being shy. He often thought that me looking away from him was me hiding from him. And usually it was. But right now, I was hoping that he would be paying more attention to me than my action. _"We can wait, Lotte. I don't ever want you to feel pressured." _

His hands traveled up my sides and rested on my waist as he waited for me to thank him and tell him that I wanted to wait a little while. I felt his chest rise and fall underneath my body and used the moment to act. I ravaged his mouth with my own, pushing my hips against his in the way that I knew would drive him crazy. "You have to be gentle," I whispered when I pulled away, slipping my hands underneath his shirt. "And tell me what to do because I don't know anything, remember?" The look in his eyes said that he didn't remember anything at this point. I couldn't remember the last time I had spoke so much. "I love you," I muttered.

He finally seemed to catch on, wrapping his hands in my hair and rolling me underneath him, taking caution to be slow and gentle. While my hands worked at his shirt, his hand worked at the sheets and duvet, pulling it down. He pulled back so that I had full view of his face. "I love you, Charlotte."


	50. Chapter XLIX

**Author's Note: I don't really have much to say to you all except thank you for reading and feel free to review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter XLIX**

I was happily burrowed into the warmth at my side, my nose pressed against something that was both hard and soft at the same time. A tugging at my hair lifted my head up at an angle. More heat seared my nose and then my left cheek, peppering my skin until it was at the corner of my mouth. I stirred slowly, enjoying the feelings on my cheek and lips. I pried my eyes open to see Paul's nose right in front of my face. "Pau-"

His lips smothered my mouth and any sounds that I was trying to make. He kissed me like I was water in the middle of a desert. His hand burrowed through my hair and palmed the back of my head. I felt like I was dying and taking my first breath and the same time. The arm that I had been using as a pillow wrapped around my shoulders and tugged me even closer. I wrapped one of my legs around his thick one, feeling his muscles jump as they made contact with mine. His chest vibrated like an insistent purr rumbling against my chest. I clasped my wolf's shoulders for support and stretched myself up to meet his kiss.

When I was dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out, Paul pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. "Good morning." I smiled but I was still shaking from the kiss that I had just experienced. The sweetness of it had brought memories of last night flooding my mind. I blushed redder than any strawberry and looked at the freckle below Paul's collarbone. I could barely see his skin stretching into a smile, a small dimple forming in one cheek. The hand that was buried in my hair thumbed over my cheek and finally found my chin, insistently lifting my face to meet his gaze. He searched my face for something that I didn't quite understand. Finally, he opened his mouth. "Regrets?"

He looked fearful of my response. There was a cruel part of my mind that wanted to let him sweat for a minute. But the larger, kinder part of my brain won out. In the small space between our chests, I signed, _"Never."_ His smiled was brighter than the morning light. _"I still can't believe that you built this room."_ His smiled widened.

"We were working on something else for Nate and I figured, if we were old working on something, we could add this to our list." I smiled up at him, but my stomach began to churn to make itself known. We had come straight home yesterday afternoon and gotten a little...distracted. Now we needed to get some breakfast before I lost consciousness from starvation. My stomach must have pronounced itself louder than I thought because Paul's smile got a little bigger as he laughed. "Let's get some breakfast." I nodded.

Paul liked to work the early afternoon shift for patrol. It put him out of the house at the most convenient time. Ariana was usually at tennis and I was busy with chores. He would be able to be home by dinner and spend the night with me and his sister. With school being finished and the vampires worrying Paul, I didn't swim as much as I would like. Instead, I busied myself with reading, cooking and cleaning. It was for this reasons that I was unaware of Paul's ability to cook. I ignored the soreness between my legs when he hoisted me onto the clean counter. _"What do you want for breakfast?"_

_ "You're cooking?" _

_ "I do know how to cook."_ I guess it was stupid of me to assume that he wouldn't. After all, he had cared for his sister for so long that he was like Mr. Mom. I had never been _inside_ the house before his father left, but I knew that it couldn't possibly be all that dirty. Paul wouldn't have allowed it to be with Ariana's health. _"If you don't tell me, I'm just going to start cooking as see what we come up with."_

_ "That sounds interesting."_ I couldn't help the hiss of pain that shot through my teeth when I pulled my knees up to my chest, resting my heel on the tile. I wasn't sure if it was my surgery sight or the tightness in my groin that hurt, but I knew that something hurt me. Paul eyed me suspiciously, his one eyebrow quirked up in question. I shook my head and rested my chin on my knees and waited for him to decide if he needed my help. But he was quite competent and save the looks that he occasionally shot me, he didn't seem to need my help. Which then my mind time to wander.

My thoughts drifted to the previous night...or afternoon. I had been so ready for the pain, for things to hurt. It was all I had ever heard about. The first time that you had sex with someone was supposed to be great for the guy and painful for the girl. But I didn't feel pain, not after Paul's tender ministrations. He had been unspeakably tender with me, his hands leaving trails of fire everywhere that they touched. His kisses had been so much like this morning, his mouth moving in the most distracting fashion, keeping my mind off of what I was doing.

All the worries that I had ever had about being with a hearing man went out the windows. My inability to speak for so many years and general shyness made me afraid. How was I, in the middle of the moment, supposed to raise my hands and get his attention? How was I supposed to tell him what I wanted? But with Paul, I hadn't needed to tell him. He understood my body, my mind, the things that I wanted from him better than I did. Before I realized that I wanted him to hold me tighter, his arms were constricting around me. Before I knew that I wanted him to kiss me, his mouth was on mine. Every fear that I had ever had was erased with him.

Paul's hand in front of my chest, holding a bright green plate, drew my attention away from my thoughts. A neatly done omelet was staring at me, red bell peppers and bacon gleaming against the yellow of the egg. How long had I been distracted? Clearly long enough for Paul to have cooked a complete breakfast. I took the plate from him and lifted the first bite to my mouth. It was everything an omelet should be, the cheese dissipating in my mouth while the crunchy bacon contrasted with the softness of the egg. I set the plate beside me. _"This is delicious."_

_ "I'm glad you think so."_ He turned away from me then and began working on his own food, cracking six eggs into a bowl. Once he had the eggs blended with milk and lying evenly across the bottom of his pan, cooking with the vegetables and meats, he turned back to me. _"What had you so distracted? I tried to talk to you." _

I blushed. I felt bad. I was his imprint. I was supposed to be there for him. What if he'd been wanting to talk to me about something important? I shook my head, not wanting to answer his question. I needed to get a hold of myself. Girls weren't supposed to think about this kind of thing. I wasn't supposed to be dreaming about have sex with Paul LaHote. It wasn't proper. He checked on his frying pan once more and then moved to stand in front of me, his hands on either side of me as he leaned in. "Tell me."

_"I was - - I uh,"_ I licked my lips, suddenly nervous about my thoughts. _"I was thinking about last night; it was kind of great."_ I dropped my hands to my lap, fingering with the hem of my shorts. Naturally my hands would have a mind of their own and say things that I didn't want them to. Now Paul would probably think I was some sex-crazed girl. It wasn't that I didn't love what we had done or that I didn't want to do it again, but it had been drilled in my head from years and years of etiquette school that a lady didn't want sex. Ever.

It was then that I remembered that Paul had done things before he met me. And while I refused to let his reputation tarnish what we had now, I couldn't help but realize that last night probably didn't do anything for him. How could it? I had no idea what to do with my body to make any of it better for him. I went off of instinct and front what I understood, there were actual techniques for this stuff. _"At least, it was for me." _Paul looked a little confused but moved away from me and plated his omelet. That was what I was afraid of. He didn't want to tell me just how bad it had been.

_"Maybe next time, if you know you there to be a next time, you can give me a little more -"_ I blushed and couldn't bring my hands to finish the sentence. _"Paul, I honestly didn't know what I was doing and if it wasn't good for you, I-"_

His warm hand wrapped around mine and pulled it down to my lap. "You thought I didn't enjoy myself?" His eyes were glimmering with laughter. He was mocking me? I didn't want him to make light of my fears. "Charlotte, I have never enjoyed sex as much as I did last night."

What?

"I told you, Lotte, I've never done it with someone that I actually loved. It was unlike anything that I had ever experienced in my life. I don't think I'll ever get enough." He was probably just saying it to make me feel better, not wanting to hurt my feels. He dipped his head so that he was even closer. "Eat up, Lotte. I have an idea of how we can burn a few calories."


	51. Chapter L

**Author's Note: I know that it's been two whole days. I'm really sorry! My mom had surgery and I was having to take care of her the last few days. Sorry, sorry, sorry! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter L**

The next few days without Ariana were spent much like the first few. Paul and I would wake up together, skin rubbing against skin. He liked to make breakfast for me. After we ate, Paul would insist that I leave the dishes for a little while. I hadn't realized how nice their backyard was until Paul had started clearing stuff out. It was huge. He had started clearing away the trash and properly stacking his wood that he'd chopped when I freaked out on him. After we worked in the backyard a little, Paul would go out on patrol. The last couple of days, Paul would send Embry to visit with me while I was alone.

I liked Embry. He was kind and calm, liked to talk about his mom and his friends. I could see something in him that was fiercely protective and loyal. I liked it. There were times where you could see that he didn't really like Paul's decisions, that he didn't agree with the things that Paul would say. But Paul was still his brother and he would always stick by his Pack mate. Embry couldn't sign to save his life. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Embry could sign simple sentence, but where the rest of the Pack could sign to me, tell me things like they would any other person, Embry couldn't. The good news was that I read lips fairly well and Embry could understand sign better than the other people in the Pack.

But the day had finally arrived that Paul and I were going to get to take Ariana home. We spent a few ours with Ari in the hospital everyday after Paul finished patrolling. It wasn't nearly as often as he had promised her. But Ariana was so busy with her little social life down at the hospital, I don't think she noticed. She realized after I had left that she would never have to go back to the hospital for dialysis. The prospect of it thrilled her.

But there was so much of her life that was spent at that hospital that I don't think she really knew what to do. It was like saying goodbye to the old Ariana and getting to live her life as a new one. She had so many people that she was leaving behind and no matter how much we told her that she could still see them all, she didn't really believe it. _"I know what it's like,"_ she'd signed to me when I was saying that she could have a sleep over at the house with all her friends from the hospital. _"The people who are healthy, that get the new body parts. It's hard to watch them. All of the sudden, they don't have to worry about falling and getting a cut. They don't have to worry about whether or not an infection will kill them. It's hard to watch them get to move on with their lives while we're stuck waiting to find out if we get to do the same."_

Now, Paul and I were heading over to the hospital to get our little minion and bring her to a home that was unlike everything that she'd ever known. She was completely ready for us when we walked into her room. The nurses that were with her through the years all came and said their goodbyes. There were some tears and some sadness that they wouldn't see her, but mostly there was joy. If everything worked out as well as we all hoped, then Ariana would never need to be in the hospital until she was pregnant and having her own children. "Please get me out of here!" She launched herself at Paul the moment that he walked through the door.

He'd gently pushed her away. I felt bad for her because I knew what was going to come next. Paul was going to be crazy careful with her for the next few weeks. And unlike me, Ariana wouldn't have a hope of getting him to stop. Paul had gathered her things and carried it all in one arm. I rested my hand on his bent elbow and took Ari's other hand as he led us from the hospital. It was like a hero leading his troops from a glorious battle.

Ari hadn't had any idea about renovations to the house. She'd seemed just as surprised as I was that Paul had built in another bedroom. But she couldn't handle it like a normal thirteen-year-old; no, of course not. She turned to Paul with a bright smile. "It's about time you got a bed you actually fit on, big brother." I laughed right along with her and then ushered her upstairs to a bedroom that Paul had repainted a light blue. Ariana had aged out of the little girl pink.

Because of our surgeries, I was being a little more health conscious about our food than usual. Ari and I ate salads while Paul got a nice beefsteak and some potatoes and veggies. Spoiled monster. We sat down at the table, only to have Paul stop everything. Before I could guess what he was on about, he had dialed someone on his phone and ordered us to wait. Penn showed up a few moments later. I smiled at Paul from across our small table. He was so ridiculously amazing with everything.

After dinner and an impromptu dessert of ice cream sundaes, Penn went home and Ariana was tucked gently into bed. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, glad to be home and happy. I joined Paul downstairs on the couch that used to pull out and be our bed. He pulled me directly into his side, his arm rubbing over mine in delicious friction. _"It's good to have our family all home."_ He smiled down at my hands and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. _"Why haven't you been doing as much wolf stuff lately?"_ I knew that it was sudden, but as I was sitting here wrapped up in his arms, I couldn't help but remember a time when he'd get called away every time that we were sitting comfortably.

_"Before the battle, we were trying to make sure that the redhead didn't get close to our families. And then there was all the time spent preparing for the newborns and all that. But now, the newborns are down, the redhead is dead, all the real danger has passed. I mean, Bella Swan is getting married and we're all kind of surviving that, but other than that, life is just business as usual."_ I smiled at him. I loved that Paul was so open with me. I knew that with others, even Ariana, he just shrugged and acted like there was nothing that he had to say. But all those precious words that he saved, he spent on me.

I snuggled into his side, looking around the house. Penn had heard about the "renovations" to the house and brought some of her artwork down. It was mostly orchids and lilies and other flowers that Penn grew in her backyard. It was her hidden talent, one that she shared with no one. Last I checked, I was the only one who knew about it. But now she had included Paul. She was beginning to understand that these people were my family, that she was included in this. Paul would always protect her because she was my family.

The paintings gave this place a finished look. Maybe a few pictures of Ari and Paul on the walls so that people knew that this was their home, but other than that, it was beautiful. And it was home. _"We need to talk."_ I tried to swallow my fear. Wasn't that supposed to be the dreaded sentence? Wasn't it supposed to be what he said to me right before he left me? _"I invited someone to come over tomorrow night." _I was confused, but didn't say anything. _"My parents."_ My gaze flew from his hands to his face as I tried to judge the emotions in his eyes.

I could see the pain, the fear, the worry, but being Paul, he'd masked it all with anger. It was the easies thing for him to latch onto. _"I talked to Ariana about seeing our mother, about making that decision."_ I nodded to urge him forward. _"She said that she wants to see them again but here, in this house, with you and me there."_

_"Wait a second, me? She wants _**_me_**_ there with her?"_ I wanted so desperately to be a part of Ariana's life and to be a part of this family, but there was a reality that I could fight. I wasn't a part of _that_ family. The pain that Paul went through, the things that Ariana had suffered through, I didn't know anything about them. I wasn't a part of that. _"Paul, I don't know if that's my place." _I didn't need him to know what I was really thinking about his parents, that I was still afraid to meet them. Regardless of what little importance they held in his life, they were still his parents.

Paul turned me so that I was sitting sidesaddle on the couch, mimicking his position. Our knees were almost touching as he placed my hands in my lap. _"You are my imprint, Charlotte. Your place is with me, no matter where I am. And you are more of a parent to Ariana than either of our parents. She wants you there because you are her family to. Ari doesn't want the life that she had before."_ I smiled up at him. _"I love you, little Lotte. You belong with me and my sister in our home. No where else. Just with us."_


	52. Chapter LI

**Author's Note: Okay ladies and gentlemen, here it is. I just want to thank everyone who has been continuing to review. I know that it's going slow and it's been a little boring lately, but I really appreciate everyone that reads and reviews. Enjoy!**

**Chapter LI**

I wasn't sure what one was supposed to cook in the situation that I was in. I was the girlfriend of a son who, I had just learned, had taken custody of his baby sister. I was the mother figure in said sister's life. I was the person that made it impossible for them to come back and be a part of their children's lives. What if someone was a vegetarian? What if they didn't like red meat? _"No one cares what they like, Charlotte. Make that good steak, those potatoes you made once, and bacon asparagus. I'll make sure there's no leftovers," _Paul promised when I was standing in Safeway, staring at my shopping list.

There were generic things on there. Toothpaste, toilet paper, sodas, juice, coffee... But I didn't have a single dinner option on there. I didn't ever have to worry about leftovers. Between Paul and the others that stopped by the house from time to time, there was almost never enough food left in the house. Well, if Paul had a request for dinner then I guess I could make that. It _was_ Paul's favorite meal. I sighed and started marching towards the meats in the back.

Paul was practically jumping for joy when I was looking down on the sirloin steaks, trying to determine which one to get as well as how many. Paul could eat a whole one by himself. Maybe two... three so that we would have left overs for him to eat before he went on patrol later tonight. Warm fingers wrapped around my chin and pulled my face out of the bloody meats. _"You're over thinking things."_

_"How do you know what I'm thinking about?" _I hated that he knew me as well as he did. I wasn't open to him completely. It was almost impossible for me to hide things from me. And yet, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

_"You get these little lines around your eyes."_ He lifted his finger to the corner of my eye and touched the skin there.

_"Are you telling me that I have wrinkles, Paul LaHote?"_

_"Shut up."_ He smiled at me and took the handheld basket from me. We met Ariana in the cosmetology department. She had a few different shades of eyeshadow in her hands that immediately had Paul tensing up. I smiled and fought the urge to laugh at his expression before unthreaded our arms and walked up to Ariana. _"I have better makeup that would look pretty on you at home."_ I looked at the bright purple she was holding in her hand. _"You're too beautiful to cover it with those colors, Ari. Sometimes less is more attractive."_

_"Paul never lets me where makeup."_ I laughed at the expression that she had on her face but did pat her shoulder in reassurance. _"He's never going to let me grow up."_

_"No, he's not." _Her face fell. _"But you're growing up whether he likes it or not. Just give him time to adjust, Ari. He'll get better. Promise."_

She dropped her head onto my shoulder and I chuckled again. With one arm securely wrapped around her shoulders, I towed her down to where Paul was waiting for us. He looked relieved when he realized that all the makeup was back on the shelves and not coming home with us. _"You're over thinking things."_ I tried to make my face similar to the look that he'd had but failed miserably. There was only one Paul.

_"You can never over think things when my girls are concerned."_ Ari and I looked at each other and then rolled our eyes in unison, be ultimately we followed Paul to the cashier and the car. Ari chatted away like she always did. Paul would give her appropriate responses whenever she needed them. She skipped like a happy kid into her room, signing something about wanting to braid her hair before her parents got there that night. I could see the stress on Paul's face when she finished her sentence. I took his hand and squeezed it, giving him a slight smile. His lips twitched in response but he there was nothing in his eyes.

Paul dropped the bags on the counter and marched out the backdoor without so much as a backwards glance. I watched the delicious play of his muscles when he pulled his shirt off and fought the urge to groan. Ari coming home was much like a child returning to her parents...with the same results for me and Paul as far as intimacy. It wasn't like he wouldn't touch me anymore or anything, but both of us felt strange about doing things while Ari was home. And now that he was all concerned with his parents coming over, I doubted I would see _my_ Paul for a few days.

I looked out of the sliding glass door wistfully to find Paul standing out in the yard chopping wood. I suppose that was a step up from shouting at me. He had learned long ago that shouting at me was never going to help either of us. I opened two of the freezer sized ziplock bags and put the steaks in each. Adding balsamic vinegar and bleu cheese salad dressing, I placed them on the counter to marinate as quickly as possible. I began prepping the asparagus and wrapping it in bacon and placed some pricked potatoes in the oven to bake.

Every time that I looked over, Paul was still chopping wood. The pile was growing by the moment. Ariana was still upstairs, primping and prepping. I supposed that I should do the same. I knew that whether or not Paul accepted them, it was still important to impress them. I looked back at the food that was still sitting out and made sure that everything that needed to be put away was before I trudged up the stairs into the bathroom that I used for my makeup and hair.

I didn't do much with my hair, especially since I would be the one cooking. I had hoped that Paul would want to grill for me, but seeing as he was angrily killing trees in our backyard, I kind of wrote off that idea. I was always grateful for my stick straight hair. I know, weird right? Most girls wanted something different than what they had. But with pin straight hair that fell past my butt, I could pull it up in a high ponytail with one small piece wrapped around to cover the tie and it would look like I had worked way harder than I had.

I dusted my eyelids with some neutral, natural shimmer, added some black eyeliner and mascara before I left the bathroom content with myself. I looked out the door when I was down the stairs again, but Paul was still working on the wood in the back. I let out a heavy sigh and walked into our bedroom to get on some fresher clothes. The room was so comfortable, so nice for us, but it took my breath away every time that I walked in. I couldn't believe that he had taken the time to build a completely separate room for us to live in.

I wore something that was comfortable and casual, just some jean shorts and a loose tank top. There was no need to wear shoes because this was my house. This _is_ my home now. And they hadn't had anything to do with it in weeks now. I pulled the bedroom door shut, wondering what his father would have to say when he saw it. A movement by the kitchen caught my eye.

Paul had the steaks hanging from his hand as he marched back towards the grill. "Does that mean you will cook them?"I shouted after him. His hand came up in a thumbs up motion but he didn't stop to give me the time of day. Great; this was the Paul that I was going to have to deal with the rest of the night, long after his parents left that was for sure.

I checked the time, glad that Paul had allowed us all to sleep in and go shopping late. It was four forty-five and his parents were supposed to be here any minute. I had fifteen minutes max to make sure that Paul was okay... As okay as someone in this position could be that is. I placed the asparagus on a rack and then on the baking sheet and place them in the over to cook for the next ten minutes, hoping that I would feel my phone vibrate this time. I had almost burned the chicken the other day when I couldn't hear the timer. "Are you going to look at me at some point tonight?" I asked from the back porch.

He turned and looked at me with bored eyes before he turned his attention back to the steaks. Although there wasn't much to look at because the lid was closed and he was simply glaring at the grill. I walked around the barbecue and stood in front of him. _"Please, Paul."_

_"What do you want to see from me, Charlotte? I don't want them here. I don't want them in my house." _

_"I know that. But we agreed that this was a good thing for Ari. She needs to make her own decisions where your parents are concerned."_ He didn't look at all happy about it. _"Can't you just pretend that this is a normal dinner with strangers that you don't know?"_

_"How am I supposed to forget what they did, Lotte?"_ He stopped signing and his mouth stretched to accommodate his shouts and screams. I crossed my arms and waited for him to come down from his rant before I signed.

_"Do you feel better?" _He didn't give me any response. _"Shouting at me, the girl who can't hear, it made it all better right?"_ He flinched a little. _"Your sister is trying to grow up and make a decision. You have to trust that you raised her well enough to make the _**_right_**_ decision, Paul. If you can't handle this, then leave so that Ariana has a chance to make her choice. But I really hope that you're man enough to be here for your family when we need you."_

Waving arms from the back porch caught my eye. I looked up and caught eyes with Ari. _"They're here."_ The bright smile on her face showed just how excited she was but as I neared, I saw caution in her eyes as well.

_"Come on, Ari."_ I walked her into the house, closing the door with a backward glance at Paul. God, I really hoped that he didn't leave; I don't think I could do this on my own.


	53. Chapter LII

**Author's Note: Paul is ****_not_**** perfect; that's the point of this story. Paul is having to learn how to control himself and do what's best for everyone else, not just what his gut is telling him. That said, enjoy!**

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**Chapter LII**

I pulled the door open to find the woman that I had seen in the hospital and a cleaner version of the man that I had met the day that I picked Ariana up from the house. I was instantly wishing that I hadn't yelled at Paul. I wasn't sure how to communicate with his parents and I felt like it was wrong to make Ariana take charge of this. "Hi," I whispered. I knew there were a few words that I could say without sounding like a dunce. "Come on in."

Paul's father's eyes narrowed as he probably heard the differences in my voice for the first time. "Are you one of the special needs kids or something?" My heart froze. I had been expecting a lot of things from him but I hadn't been expecting that statement. I wasn't sure how to tell him that I wasn't special needs. I didn't even consider myself disabled most days. But there are just some words that I can't say without sounding like I was mentally retarded. I looked to Ariana, but she was cowering slightly behind me.

I relished in the warmth that dropped around my shoulders in the next moment and looked up into the face of the man that I loved. "She's deaf. And if you're going to insult her, you can leave." There was a steely look to his face that was daring either of his parents to say a word against me. They both wisely snapped their mouths shut. "Ariana, why don't you show them to the dining room.," he suggested with a discreet wink at the little girl. She bounced off to the dining room where I had already set the table and laid out some of the dishes that were prepared. I took a step to follow them, but Paul pulled me to a stop. _"Thank you."_

_"For what?"_ I hadn't done anything but shout at him. I doubted that was really helpful.

_"For the wake up call. I needed it."_ He looked like he honestly meant it but I didn't know how he could. _"I can't keep treating her like she is a child. And, uh, in case I don't get a chance to tell you later tonight, I love that you never back down." _I snorted. _"No, I'm serious. Thank you for sticking by me even when I'm being stupid and stubborn."_

_"Always, Paul. You don't have to thank me for it." _He dipped his head and pressed is lips to mine in a warm, sweet kiss that sent my pulse speeding at breakneck speeds. It took me a few moments before I was able to push him away. _"We should get over there."_ We hadn't been come very long, but we both knew that was Paul was more than anxious to get this dinner over with. And there was a little part of me that worried about what had been said to Ariana in the brief moments we were distracted. Paul nodded; I'm sure he was thinking about the same things that I was.

Ariana was almost huddled in a corner away from her parents with both of her arms wrapped around her center. She looked at us with a gaze that immediately had me laughing. Her eyes were pleading with us to come over there while she was simultaneously chastising us for leaving her alone. The pained combination on her face forced my hand to clap over my mouth to keep myself from laughing. _"Charlotte made dinner for us all to enjoy."_ I looked up to see his mouth moving at the same time as his hands. _"Have a seat."_

His jaw was still set at a hard angle, but he was being polite. I guess beggars can't be choosers. With one hand on each of our chairs, Paul seated me and Ariana. I was glad to see that he had cared up a few pieces of steak for each of us but I did notice that one of the sirloins was missing. I stared at the serving plate and then looked at Paul with a condemning glare. His lips twitched for the first time since the grocery store and he dropped a wink at me. "So what is it that you're into now, Ariana?" Her mother looked like she really wanted try, but I could see the look on Paul's face that dared her to stop and the fear in Ariana's eyes as she remembered that her mother didn't know her...at all.

Ariana gave a response and I have complete faith that it was something great, but she spoke with her face looking down at the placemats and I was only able to catch a word or two. The thirteen-year-old looked at me when she finished her sentence. I smiled at her over Paul's hands and nodded. I didn't need to know what she said to her mother to know that this adolescent needed reassurance from me and Paul. With a large bite of food in his mouth, Paul slipped his hand underneath the table and squeezed Ari's knee in a brotherly motion. When his other hand slid towards me, I was expecting the same motion. Instead his hand slid over my thigh, his callouses almost burning my exposed skin. He squeezed a little, but quickly released the hold. His thumb whispered over a higher part of my thigh, shooting electricity through my bones. I looked at him with a startled expression but the rogue only smiled at me, his gaze warm and promising.

Ariana dropped her fork on her plate. The sound must have been loud because Paul was startled out our little word. Ari's delicate hands trembled as she lifted them and squared her shoulders. _"Why did you leave?"_ I watched Paul's face turn a little blue as his new bite of steak lodged itself in his throat. I pounded his back as roughly as I could while I avoided staring at Paul's baby sister like she had lost her mind. I was pretty sure that she had.

"What?" I looked at the faces of the parents sitting across from us.

"Ariana, leave your mother alone." Paul glared at his father with a look I had only ever seen when he talked about vampires. "We didn't come here to be berated by our children."

_"I didn't realize you knew words that were more than two syllables."_ I ground my foot into Paul with a glare of my own, warning him to knock it off.

"I said leave your mother alone."

_"Why should I?" _My gaze flew to Ari's enflamed eyes. She looked like she was ready to kill someone if we would only just give her a chance. I glanced at Paul, but he seemed just as shocked as I was. _"She tried everything she could to get rid of me without having an abortion. And no, years later, she wants to come back and get to know me? You would know me if you had been around like a mother is supposed to be."_

"Why are you signing?" His mother seemed to realize why her children had both been signing when her eyes met mine. I could see the blame that was in her eyes but I didn't care. None of this was my doing. Ariana had always been so quiet and so sweet her entire life, especially as long as I knew her.

_"Charlie is deaf. And she's done a lot for me, more than you ever have. She deserves to know what's being talked about."_ I just wanted to shrink in my seat. But I forced myself to think like Penn would and sit up straight, filling myself with indignant pride. _"Here's my question: did you stay long enough to make sure that I wasn't messed up or did you leave from the beginning? I mean, you do realize that all your drinking could have resulted in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, right? I actually get to consider myself lucky because all I had was kidney failure. Oh yeah, _**_had._**_ I would still be sitting here waiting for a new kidney if it wasn't for Charlie._

_"All she does is repair the things that you've broken." _I watched her hands start to shake and I realized why she wanted this meeting. It wasn't so that she could get to know her parents or so that she could make her own decision. She wanted to tell her parents exactly what she thought of them. She was definitely Paul's little sister.

_"I have never known what it's like to have a normal family."_ Her chin rose a notch as she kept her determination up. _"I never got to be normal because of your stupid actions," _she glared at her mother, _"and your weaknesses."_ Mr. LaHote opened his mouth to say something but Ariana pressed forward. _"You should have been a stronger man. You fell down when she left and started drinking. You left my brother to take care of our home. And we both know what Paul has been through for that."_ I smiled sadly at the statement. _"You left a boy to do a man's job and you don't deserve my time._

_"I don't want either one of you in my family. I don't want anything to do with you two. Go live your happy lives without me and Paul. Get out."_ I was staring at Ariana with awe filled eyes. She had never done anything like this with the people that she cared about. I had never imagined that she would act this way around people that she really _didn't_ know. Neither one of her parents moved. She shoved away from the table sending her napkin flying from her lap. I'm sure that she screamed for them to get out, but her mouth was opened so wide, I couldn't make out the actual words.

Yeah, definitely Paul's baby sister with an attitude like that.


	54. Chapter LIII

**Author's Note: Okay, so here's what's wrong. FanFiction decided yesterday that it wasn't going to let me update my stories for the life of me. So here is the chapter. I got it up as soon as FanFiction would let me. I hope you all enjoy it!**

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**Chapter LIII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I grabbed the steaks that she had left out on the counter and began marching towards the backdoor. I might as well get a good meal out of this fucking day. "Does that mean you will cook them?" Charlotte's voice called after me. I was so angry and the last thing that I wanted was for her to see me like this. It would probably scare her off and with my parents coming, _I_ didn't need to be the reason that she decided to lean. So, I put my thumb up over my head to tell her I would take care of it.

Lotte was in the house for only a few moments before I heard the glass door slide open and she spoke. "Are you going to look at me at some point tonight?" she demanded. Her voice still made my heart stutter. But I was far too angry to focus on the fact that she was speaking to me. I turned and glared at her, silently demanding that she go back in the house.

Instead, she stalked off the porch and to the other side of the grill where I could see her. _"Please, Paul."_ Please? Please what? My parents were about to walk in this house and she was going to have to deal with a curse that was supposed to be on me. I was supposed to be the one who had to bare this burden. It was my responsibility. So please fucking what? What did she want from me?

_"What do you wants to see from me, Charlotte?"_ I had learned a few weeks ago not to use phrases with the word _hear_ in it. _"I don't want them here. I don't want them in my house."_ She just looked at me.

_"I know that."_ Her eyes gentled as she stared at me. _"But we agreed that this was a good thing for Ari. She needs to make her own decisions where you parents are concerned."_ I had been fine with this conversation until she'd brought my parents back into the mix. I'm sure that I looked like I wanted to kill someone, which really wasn't all the far from how I felt. _"Can't you just pretend that this is a normal dinner with strangers that you don't know?"_

_"How am I supposed to forget what they did, Lotte?_ It's because of them my sister lived the first thirteen years of her life in and out of the hospital! I almost got arrested because I had to take care of my sister! It's their fault that everything has happened the way that it has. And everything spilled over onto you! You had to have major surgery because of the things that they did." The red cleared away from my eyes and I could see clear again. Lotte was standing in front of me with her arms crossed under her boobs like a shelf. Her head was cocked to the side and her eyebrows were slightly lifted as she waited for my little rant to end. She was patient for another few seconds while I cooled off.

And then she lifted her hands.

_"Do you feel better?" _No._ "Shouting at me, the girl who can't hear made it all better right?"_ She probably hadn't even heard a word of what I'd said. I let my temper get the best of me...again. And Charlotte had been the one who'd had to pay for the consequences of my anger. _"Your sister is trying to grow up and make a decision. You have to trust that you raised her well enough to make the right decision, Paul."_ I trusted Ari; I trusted Lotte; I didn't trust the people that gave birth to us. Her chin rose a notch, determination flaring in her eyes. _"If you can't handle this, then leave so that Ariana has a chance to make her choice. But I really hope that you're man enough to be here for your family when we need you."_

She walked away from me to join Ari, who was desperately trying to get our attention. I didn't really pay attention to what either one of the girls was signing. All I noticed was the bleakness, the fear, the uncertainty in her eyes when she looked back at me through the window. She was right, my family needed me. And here I was, sitting on my ass and cooking steak. I wasn't being the man that I should be.

There was a part of my brain that told me to go into the house and apologize because she deserved that from me. But I didn't want to ruin dinner. And so long as I was in the house before my parents got here, there would be plenty of time for me to tell her how sorry I was for being such a dick. Because I didn't have to balls to be there for my family, but she'd had the guts to stand up to me and face me down regardless of my anger.

I was basically throwing myself a fucking pity party while I waited for the steaks to cook. And while I was pitying myself, I was thinking about all of the reasons that Lotte had to leave me. I made her life harder. She'd made it clear from the very beginning that she couldn't understand me when I shouted at her. Apparently, I never learned. I tried to remember, I really did. But I could never get the switch in my brain that told me to shut up to flip. I grabbed the steaks and put them on the plate that I'd had ready.

I had just sliced a few pieces of the medium rare deliciousness when I heard, "Come on in." They were here? Shit! I gently laid everything down and marched to the entry.

"Are you one of them special needs kids or something?" Dad's gruff, unslurred voice demanded. I could hear Lotte's heart stutter at the question. Special fucking needs? There were a lot of things that were special about her but special needs was not one of them. I rounded the corner to see her peering down at Ari, but she was practically hiding behind my girl.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side, staking a claim for my parents to see. I wouldn't have them harassing her and I wouldn't have them hurting Ariana. This was my home; _my_ home. This was my domain and I wasn't going to stand for anything but politeness from them. "She's deaf," I explained. Dad's eyes narrowed but I could still see that they weren't clear. He was still a drunk and my mother was still a flake. But Charlotte was right: Ariana needed to figure this out for herself. "And if you're going to insult her, you can leave." My father looked like he would knock me upside the head if he could. "Ariana." She stared at me like a deer in the headlights but she'd asked for this. She was going to have to play the hostess. "Why don't you show them to the dining room?" I winked at her to make sure she knew everything was going to be okay. She nodded and skipped away from the entry, my parents trailing behind her.

Lotte made a move to follow my sister and my parents, but I had to stop her. I needed her to know that I was sorry. But damn it if my pride wouldn't allow me to say it. _"Thank you."_ There, that one wasn't so hard.

She blinked at me in surprise. I saw guilt in her eyes. _"For what?"_ Did she really not understand what she did for me? What she does for me every single day of my life? She was the only thing that kept me grounded to this earth. And in more than an imprint kind of way. She was the person that kept my head level, that forced me to look at things without my anger blinding me.

_"For the wake up call. I needed it."_ The guilt mixed with her confusion that was now etched in her forehead. _I can't keep treating her like she's is a child. And, uh, in case I don't get a chance to tell you later tonight, I love that you never back down."_ She snorted in response and I smiled. I remembered a time when her grunts and snorts were the only things that I got to hear. _"No, I'm serious. Thank you for sticking by me even when I'm being stupid and stubborn." _

She smiled at me like I was the sweetest person that she'd ever met. Me; Paul LaHote. The man-whore of La Push and the wolf with the worst temper. But she was definitely looking like I was the kindest person she'd ever known. I would never understand how I was so lucky. _"Always, Paul. You don't have to thank me for it."_ I refused to take this gift for granted, though. She could leave me and it would tear me apart. I couldn't lose her. I needed to give her reasons to stay.

I ducked down so that I was level with her and pressed my lips against hers, hoping that I could use them to convince her to stay with me. I didn't ask her to let me in; I didn't ask her to do anything. I let her control it but she didn't seem to want anything else from me. She was content to just let me hold her and kiss her like she was the water and oxygen and food that I needed to survive. And just when I was losing myself in her, in this amazing young woman that wanted to spend the rest of her life with me, when I heard the creak of a chair as my father sat his fat ass down. The slender fingers that had been clutching at my shirt gently pushed me away. _"We should get over there." _

The pain that comes with lost opportunities.


	55. Chapter LIV

**Author's Note: I'm sorry there was no chapter yoni last night. Complications with my mom after surgery. Double update tomorrow. Enjoy!**

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Chapter LIV

It had been a few weeks since Paul's parents had left, not willing to return after Ariana had all but kicked them out. Ari was doing well, running around like a normal thirteen-year-old. And in her spare time, she was begging me to let her wear clothing that was more revealing, asking Paul if she could get some makeup, and trying to get me to convince Paul that she was more than old enough to go to a school dance this year. _"I'm going to be in eighth grade. That's when Paul went to his first school dance."_

_"Ari, I'm not promising anything -"_

_"But you will talk to him, won't you?"_ I could see her eyes begging me, pleading with me to ask Paul on her behalf. But I knew that if I kept giving into the little imp I would probably regret it soon.

_"If you want to go to the Winter Formal, you're going to have to convince Paul yourself." _She glared dangerously at me. _"I'll let you tell me your argument before you tell Paul, but you're going to have to tell him about it yourself."_

She flopped down on the bed next to me. "If I tell him, he's just going to say no and then I'm going to be mad at him because he's being overprotective. I don't have the health problems that I always have now. Why can't I just go and be like everyone else now?"

_"Ari, old habits die hard. You've been sick for a long time. And you've been Paul's baby sister for even longer. It's going to take a little while for him to see you as his sister and not the baby."_

"Well, why do you treat me differently? Why is it so easy for you to see me as just a normal kid?" It was innocently asked, but the answer was harder to give.

_"I didn't have to raise you, Ariana. Your brother has done anything and everything that he could to keep you safe and healthy. So I don't see you as the little girl that I had to change, potty train, and raise. I see you as my little sister, not my baby sister."_

"And you can't get Paul to see me that way?" I laughed out loud at that one. Ariana smacked her back down on the mattress. I laid myself down beside her and looked over at her little face. "How can you get him to do anything you want him to?"

_"One day you'll meet a guy who is everything that your brother is to me and then you'll understand," _I promised her. "_Go get ready to go to Marcie's."_

I dropped Ari off after a few words with Marcie's mother before I headed to the beach. My summers used to consist of school and more school. Now that I didn't have something to do every moment of the day, I filled my time with useless excursions around the beach. I think my favorite times were when the rain came pouring down. There was a little cave created by one of the cliffs. I liked to sit there while Paul was on patrol and watch the rain come pouring down, creating a curtain over the the landscape.

And that is precisely where I found myself sitting after I'd dropped Ari off. The rain was more like sleet, a summer storm fully upon us now. But I was wrapped in one of Paul's warm sweaters, a pair of leggings and warm fur lined boots. With an Eloisa James novel in my lap, I was enjoying the way the wind whipped Paul's scent from the jacket. Between the delicious, manly scent of him and Ms. James' description of the pirate and his wife on board the ship., I was kind of losing my mind. Maybe it was time to send Ari to a friend's house for a few nights...

My thoughts were interrupted when a flutter of fabric sank down beside me. Catherine Reed had dropped down next to me, her long orange sundress pooling around her tanned legs. "Paul brought you up here too?" I just stared at her, bending the corner of my page down so that I wouldn't lose my place and turned my full attention to her. "This is where he brings all the special girls," she explained. "It's supposed to be the great big secret but he takes us all here. None of us are special."

"Paul didn't take me here." Her eyes went wide as sounds came from my mouth. "So I guess that makes me the special one." Her cheeks flushed red and her eyes flashed anger. I pushed my way to my feet. "Excuse me."

A hand wrapped around the bottom of my ponytail and heaved. I'm sure I let out a startled scream before I turned. "You think you mean anything to him? You're no better than the rest of us. Just another piece of ass that he's going to wine, dine, fuck, and leave." I knew better than that. I was the only person that Paul would be with now. And I was the special one. Because Paul didn't "fuck" me. "If he loves you so much, why are you reading books like this?" She tried to pry the book from my grip but I held fast.

There was another way out, a longer way to get home, but I could get away from her at the very least. I brushed passed her again but she stuck her foot out this time, sending me sprawling towards the ground. The book sailed from my hands, landing over the edge and hurling to the ocean below. I looked down at the churning waves beneath me. My hair swirled in the vortex that was the wind. "You took him from me!"

"He was never yours." I rarely used those words and I knew they came out roughly, but what did I really care what she thought of me. Paul was always meant to be mine. He'd said it correctly so long ago. I saw people differently because of my deafness. I could keep Paul from losing his temper, from acting without thinking. And Paul, in turn, taught me that not everything in the world was bad. I didn't need to be as sheltered as I had always been. And I could be loved, regardless of my status as hearing.

"He should have never been with a rich, deaf bitch like you. He loved me. There was a day when he couldn't get his hands off of me. You must be some kind of slut if he'd leave me for you." I chose to ignore her again and folded my arms around my chest, hurrying away from her. I kept my chin to my chest, nose to the ground. I didn't bother choosing the most covered path. I let the rain pelt me until a rock smacked my back. I sank to the ground, bending my arm at an awkward angle to press it against my soon to be bruised back.

Her hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me around to face her. "You cannot have what is mine." Her hands wrapped around my zipper jacket and hauled me to my feet. She must have recognized it then because she was roughly unzipping it and shoving it down my shoulders, leaving me in only my camisole and leggings. "Get this through your stupid head. You will never have him."

She shoved me down again, leaving me in the sleet without a stitch of warm clothing to protect me. I could feel the rain hitting me, soaking through my clothing and chilling me to the bone. Her foot connected with my stomach and shoved me back against a tree. With a branch sticking out. I felt it go through the skin, but it stopped only a few centimeters into the skin, nothing too severe but I was still afraid to move.  
I watched her through blurry, tear filled eyes walking away from me. "Two can steal, bitch. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my man back." She sauntered away without another glance backwards.

My throat clogged with tears as I tried to wriggle away from the spike in my back. "Paul!" I coughed as loudly as I could. But in thrush, I could have been whispering. Pressing my hand to my throat so that I could feel the trembling of my vocal chords and judge my volume, I tried again. "Paul!" I wiggled again but the pain was searing. I thumped my head against the tree trunk in exasperation, but only managed to send myself into a dizzy spell. "Paul." I tried to push myself up to my feet and miraculously did it, despite the spinning around me.

Of course I only managed a few steps before I hit the ground again. For the love of all that is holy, please let this man find me. Please please please.


	56. Chapter LV

**Author's Note: Okay, so I'm getting ****_really_**** frustrated with FanFiction and I don't know how much longer I'm going to be on this site. I've been trying all night to get into my account so that I could post chapters and it was refusing to let me in. I'm really really really sorry. But here's a chapter for you today. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LV:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Jake had split off, become his own as an Alpha. The wolf in me recognized the fact that Jake was the rightful Alpha, he was the man that I was supposed to follow. But the man in me couldn't fight Sam. _Sam, he's ready to be Alpha. The spirits wouldn't have pushed him so hard if he wasn't ready for it,_ I tried to explain.

Sam's giant, charcoal black wolf rounded on me. _Don't you go forgetting that I took in your imprint when she had no one else to go to, Paul. I took her in and treated her as my own. I did that because You're my brother, because I'm your Alpha. You going to leave me now?_ he barked at me. I shrank back. It was wrong of him to bring Lotte into this and I knew that. But he was right about one thing: he had given my imprint a place to go where she felt protected, where she felt that she had a family to be with her.

Or not be with her, I guess. I had patrol during the day and since the surgery, Ari was going out more and more with her friends. I knew now that she would be healthy, that I had nothing to worry about. So I was leaving Lotte alone a little more, letting her go out and explore the beach or stay home and do whatever it was that she wanted to do there. So after I'd heard the signal howl from Sam that morning, I'd gently kissed her goodbye. She said something or another about Ariana and Marcie, but I was more focused on where she was going to be. I saw something about the beach come up off of her hands and nodded. "Love you, little Lotte," I whispered before I booked it out the door.

The moment that I was in wolf form, I was bombarded with images of Jake and Sam going at each other until all of the sudden, the only thing that we could see was Sam. I mean, we could physically see Jake, but not inside his head. We saw only his wolf, the russet hair, the barred teeth, the snarl ripping from his chest. But I could no longer feel his anger towards Sam, the desperation he was trying to convey. He was gone. He had split from the rest of us. And all too soon, Leah had done the same. Seth quickly followed her, knowing that he needed to stay where his sister was.

The good news was that Sam had decided that our patrol schedule could basically stay where it was. Of course, it took him all morning and most of the evening to come to this conclusion. Who really gives a fuck? Our patrol schedule was always changing. It wasn't always Sam's fault, but most of the time, we were switching things around, changing everything so that we could be with our imprints, our families, cling to the only parts of normal teenager that was left in us. I stopped caring after he said that we'd just keep everything normal.

I raced home, excited for the pot roast I had seen Charlotte working on that morning. But her wonderful smell wasn't in the house. "Lotte?" I called when I opened the door. I almost smacked myself in my face when I realized the stupidity of calling out for my _deaf_ imprint. I put my nose to the ground, figuratively of course, and searched for her. "Ariana, are you home?" There was no response. Maybe they were in the backyard.

I crossed through the kitchen and found the red light on the phone flashing. _"Hey Paulie, Charlie said to call and let you know if I wanted to stay the night. I already check with Marcie's mom and she said that it's fine. I'll be home by noon tomorrow. Promise. Love you and Charlie!"_ The message beeped to signal the end. I guess that would explain where Ari was. But why wasn't Charlotte home?

My heart pounded, but I told myself that she was okay. She had obviously fallen asleep at the beach. That was the logical answer. I pushed open the bedroom door, just incase she was asleep there. I pushed the door open and immediately noticed the female body sleeping in my bed. She was here. She'd just gone to sleep early. I could smell her and me on the sweater that she was wearing. I grasped her ankle lightly and tugged, linking it weird that she wasn't underneath the covers. Shaking the bed stirred the scents in the room, adding a new buttercream scent.

The woman in my bed pushed herself upright. "I've been waiting for you," the nasty voice in front of me said. "You were gone so long."

"Catherine!" I flipped the light switch on and stared at the eyes of the woman that I had once used shamelessly. "What are you doing in here? Get out of my house!"

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure out where you live?" she replied in a tone that I think was supposed to be seductive. "You wouldn't believe how tight the school is locked up this time of year," she continued. "But our little sneak-in spot was still open. Do you remember all those days that we'd -"

"My memory's fine, Catherine. Where's my girlfriend?" I demanded.

"She must be some slut if she got you away from me," she replied. The wolf in me was bristling, every hair on my body standing on end as the bitch in front of me insulted my imprint. The animalistic part of my brain said that I should tear her limb from limb, bring her to the Pack and let them defend their sister. But the man in me couldn't find it in himself to hit the woman. That was something my father would do. "What does she do that makes you so in love, Paul? If you just tell me, I'll do it," she promised.

"I don't want you. I want my girlfriend. Where is she Catherine?" I demanded, although my arms were still shaking. All I wanted was to come home to my imprint and dinner.

"How am I supposed to know about her whereabouts?" she said, pulling a wry innocent face. "She's deaf; maybe you should put a bell around her neck so that you don't have interrogate innocent people every time that you lose her."

"We both know you're anything but innocent, Catherine. Where the fuck is she?"

"How am I supposed to know!" she screamed at me.

I charged her, marching up to her until her back was flat against the wall. I could smell the fear radiating off of her. "I know that you know where she is. If she is hurt, you are going to regret this more than anything you've ever done before. Tell me where she is before I do something _I'll_ regret," I threatened in a dark voice.

"I left her at the fuck cave," she whispered, her voice shaking with fear. And then she drew her feet firmer underneath her and cocked her head t the side. "She had the balls to claim that she didn't know about it; said that you didn't take her there," she laughed then. I had never taken Charlotte there. How did she find the place? It was a good walk away. "That was the last place that I saw her," she promised.

I wrapped my hand around her arm and dragged her towards the front door. "I swear on my fucking life, Catherine, if she has so much as a fucking scratch on her God damn body, I'm going to have you brought up on breaking and entering and assault. My girl better not be hurt, you hear me?" I snapped. I roughly shoved her out the door and pulled it shut behind me with a loud slam. "Stay out of my house and get out of my life."

I didn't bother to do anything more than make sure that the door was locked before I sprinted off to the area of the forest that Catherine had said she'd seen my imprint. What the fuck was going on? I jumped over a few rocks and got into the cave in record time. Charlotte wasn't in there, but the scattering of rocks said sex...or struggle. What the hell...

Catherine'd had my jacket on. The jacket that she wore every time she left the house. I had yet to mark her, between my wolf stuff and Ariana living with us. But she always wore one my jackets so that anything supernatural would know that she was involved with wolves. And Catherine had been wearing it. Where was my imprint? I caught her smell in the cave, despite the rain, and leapt towards the scent. I had to keep my nose closer to the ground in order to find her despite the rain, but I wasn't prepared for sight that I would see. In fact, I almost missed her.

I was sprinting so quickly that when I realized the brown skin and tank top was human and not dirt, I turned back and hit the dirt. "Paul!" she shouted, but her eyes were closed. She was shaking in fear. Although it could have also been the rustling from something that she couldn't hear. I watched in terror as she tried to move herself but only ended up moaning and curling up tighter. "Paul," she whispered now.

I touched her shoulder, watching her jump before I could turn her around. Eyes that were unseeing met mine while she tried to sit herself up. "It's okay, Lotte," I said more for my comfort than for hers. "It's okay." I looked up at the clouded sky that was bringing down sleet, ice particles sticking to her clothing and hair. "Let's get you out of this rain," I whispered.


	57. Chapter LVI

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your continuing support of the last few months! I love getting to see the review hit my inbox every day. I really hope that you all enjoy today's second chapter! Love and thanks!**

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**Chapter LVI:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I'm sure it was for the best that she didn't wake up while I was running through the rain to get her home, but I would have felt so much better if she had. I could hear her heartbeat and it really wasn't all that faint, but the fact that she hadn't opened her eyes, hadn't even mumbled while we were walking really concerned me. I had heard nothing from her since my name. I hadn't seen those glorious obsidian eyes either. I always told myself that she was safe if she was on the Reservation. I could control things while she was here. But it was here that I had almost lost her today. If the temperature had been just a few degrees colder and she had been outside just a few moments longer, she could have died.

I fished my keys out of my pocket, balancing her against my chest and unlocking the door. I said a silent prayer of thanks that Ariana was staying at Marcie's. The last thing that she needed was to see Lotte shivering, half frozen, and in pain. The water dripped off her clothes, hitting my legs when it trickled down. The larger drops would hit the ground, soaking the carpet of our house. I ignored it all and marched straight upstairs to the bathroom, keeping her tucked into my chest. "It's going to be okay, Charlotte. We're going to get you warm again," I whispered.

I sat down on the toilet and rested her on my lap, keeping my arm around her shoulder and reaching across my body to turn the water on in the bathtub. Her chest rose with her shaking breath, her boobs pressing against the tank top. _Stop it!_ I thought sternly. _This is no different than when you used to give Ari a bath when she was tired._ My mental lecture didn't really help me when I shifted her so that her head lolled against my neck and her back rested against my chest. I rubbed her arms, using both my body heat and the friction to try and get her warmer. I drew my hands up her shoulders to the thin straps of her shirt and bra, pulling them down her shoulders until they were hanging off her arms. Like she was a child, I lifted each arm out of the little cords and gently started pushing the shirt down her flat, smooth stomach.

Any thoughts I'd had of comparing her to a child disappeared at the sight of the bra that was holding her chest together. I groaned and bit my lip. I shouldn't be thinking about her like that when she was a trembling mass of flesh in my arms, but damn if it wasn't the nicest looking flesh that I'd seen in my lifetime. I shook my head hard, feeling my cheeks rattle from the force and then looked back down at her. She needed my help, not a horny boyfriend. I unclasped her bra and pulled it away from her chest before, lifting her in one arm and grabbing the shirt and bringing it down her legs.

I shifted her again so that she was sidesaddle, her head lying against my shoulder. I slid her boots off her feet and slowly drew the leggings down her long legs. And today had to be the day that she wore a thong. It was like everything was against me today. With another mental lecture, I pulled the scrap of lace down as well and turned off the water in the tub. "The water's nice and warm," I promised her, lifting her high in my arms and gently lying her in the water. She hissed and tried to grab hold on my shirt, only managing to die her nails into my skin. "What's wrong, Lotte? Is it too hot?" I stuck my hand in her bathwater, but it felt fine to me.

I touched her cheek, the coldness of her skin sending prickles of pain down my arm. That's what was wrong. She was in pain from the temperature difference. And there was nothing I could do but wait for her body to adjust. Keeping a hand wrapped around her naked waist to make sure that she stayed upright, I used the other hand to unbutton my pants, bending at an awkward angle to keep my hold on her while standing and stepping out of my cut offs. I lifted her like a rag doll, trying to keep as much of her body in the water as possible while I settled behind her. The water looked like it was going to overflow for a brief moment but quickly settled again. Charlotte continued to shake with chills, but her skin felt a little warmer to the touch. I pulled her back tighter against my chest, crossing my arms over her chest and rubbing her upper arms with my thumbs.

I sat there with her for a few moments, a million thoughts going through my brain. The most important of them was her, but the one that wouldn't stop running through my head was how I should kill Catherine. I hadn't been expecting to see her, curled up on the forest floor, shocked and in pain. The bath water had turned a little pink from the blood that was scabbed over a little wound on her back. Mentally, I made a list of all the reasons why I shouldn't kill the bitch. She'd hurt my imprint, she'd broken into my house. That was all that kept running through my mind. That and the fact that Charlotte still hadn't uttered a word.

With my arms still holding her close and my chin resting on her chest, I did the only thing I knew to do to alleviate tension. I started singing the stupid songs that I would sing to Ari before I had to take her to the hospital, before she went to sleep, before I had to face the fear that she might not wake up again. "_A spoonful of sugar that is all it takes. It chanced bread and water into tea and cakes. A spoonful of sugar goes a long, long way. Have yourself a healthy helping every day,"_ I muttered, watching the water ripple around me. "_You've got grind, grind, grind at that grindstone. Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve. And all too soon, they've up grown. And then they've flown. And it's too late for your to give just that spoonful of the to help the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go down."_

Of course I had to pick the song that was far too similar to my life. I had been grinding at the fucking grindstone for too many days, telling myself that Lotte didn't care that I wasn't there every day. And she probably didn't. But I was leaving my girls to take care of each other, to entertain themselves. I was too busy patrolling and enjoying the fact that I got to come home to my girls to actually enjoy my girls. Ariana didn't have to worry about her health anymore. She shouldn't be running around La Push with her friends all day. She should be enjoying herself with me and Lotte, enjoying the fact that we were a family. It shouldn't be this way for her. And Lotte...

My Charlotte shouldn't be hiding herself in caves to get away from the rest of the world and read her romance novels. She didn't think I knew about the stupid books, but she couldn't be more wrong. She shouldn't have to read about it, she should be living it. That's what the wolf was supposed to do for his imprint. I had been so focused on all the things that my imprint was doing for me, I didn't even bother to see that I wasn't giving anything in return. I tucked my chin then and pressed a long kiss to the crown of her head. "I'm so sorry, little Lotte," I muttered. "I haven't been taking care of you and my sister like I should be." I could see her now, standing in front of me with confusion and indignation blazing in her eyes as she told me that I hadn't done anything wrong. Because even when I was in the wrong, she was still standing by my side. "I'm going to fix all of this. I'm going to get rid of Catherine, get her out of our lives. I'm going to find things for you and me and Ari to do, to be the family that I know that you want."

I looked down to find that her shivering had stopped and the water had turned a murky brown color. She wouldn't be the cleanest person in the world, but we could always change the sheets in the morning after she'd had a proper shower. The most important thing was that she was warm and I couldn't smell fresh blood. Using my toes to undo the plug on the bathtub, I waited for the water to drain a little before I gathered her in my arms and carried her off to bed.

I settled her beneath the covers before rounding the bed and crawling in beside her. She quickly burrowed into my chest, her feet pressing against my calf and her fingers finding their way to my chest. She sighed a little and squirmed closer still. "Paul," she breathed.

That was what I'd been waiting to hear.


	58. Chapter LVII

**Author's Note: I know that it's late. I'll have another chapter up some time after midnight. I'm really sorry. I know that I've been sucking at the updating thing. Hopefully I can get a handle on it really soon. Don't hate me, please. I'm trying. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LVII**

My first fear was that I was dead. I was warm, comfortably so. And the arms that were wrapped around me were the ones that I had dreamt about. Everything about the moment felt like heaven. My second fear was that I _was_ dead. That was the only way that I could be this comfortable. I tried to sit myself up, but the weight around me, the arms that I had wanted so desperately constricted. This was real; he was here. I sighed in contentment, happy with the reality that I was living. I rubbed my cheek against the warm, firm pillow and sighed again.

The man underneath me jolted awake, his arms tightening again. And then brown eyes met mine, worry, confusion, protection, and fear all etched in their depths. It all dissipated then. I tried to smile but I couldn't quite manage it. My chest rose and fell against his chest. "You're awake." I smiled and nodded. "Thank you God." He pulled me onto his chest then, my entire weight lying on him. His hand cupped the back of my head and pressed me down underneath his chin. But I felt like I had been hit like a bus.

Everything in me told me that I should kiss him, that he was the one who'd found me in the forest. I wasn't sure how I knew it, but I was one hundred precent certain that it had been Paul. I knew that I should thank him, but I couldn't do it. My eyelids began to feel heavy, my body relaxing as sleep took me over. I could feel myself falling as Paul slid away from me. The bed chilled when he left me and I really wanted to protest. But I was slowly sliding into oblivion. I felt heat against my lips but couldn't bring mine to move.

I felt a presence next to me some time later. I couldn't be sure exactly how long I'd been asleep. The lights were on in the bedroom, making me wonder if it wasn't nightfall. But I was pretty sure that the lights had been on when I'd last woke up... Where was Paul? He'd been there when I'd woken up. Hadn't he? I blinked hard when the fog started crowding in again. Not this time; I wanted to see Paul. I wanted to see Ariana.

As if I'd called out for him, the man of my dreams pushed open the bedroom door, a mug in his large, steady hand. "Hi babe." He smiled at me, crossing the room to crawl up on the bed next to me. I noticed that he had put down the cup before he crawled on the bed, but why didn't make sense until he was sitting next to me. "I'm going to help you sit up, okay?" I nodded. He hesitated for a moment and then lifted me bridal style. Once he'd repositioned the pillows and laid me down against the cushions, he let me go. "You have to drink this, Lotte."

I eyed the cup suspiciously, pointing at it and raising my eyebrows. "What? You don't trust me?" I didn't have anything to do with trust. I just wanted to know what I was putting in my body. "It's just some chia tea. Penn said that's what you would want. She even told me that I needed to add some sugar and milk." I smiled at him. It was nice to now that he thought he could rely on Penn, that he knew he could call her about anything and she would help him. "Drink up; let's get you nice and warm."

I was plenty warm but the steely look in his eyes said that this wasn't up for discussion. His hands rubbed over the back of my hands as he transferred the tea into my hands. I took a small sip at first, testing the heat. Who was I kidding? Paul spent the majority of his life taking care of a child that was in and out of the hospital, super sick and almost to the point of death his entire life. He knew what he was doing with this kind of stuff. He settled himself beside me. I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my head as I sipped from the cup, managing to get about a quarter of it down before my stomach began to churn.

I handed it over to him, pleading with him to take it from me. I would finish it, but I needed to take a break first. Thankfully, he relieved me of the mug and then wiggled his way closer to me, his long arm going over my shoulders and resting over my chest. "Ariana decided to stay another night at Marcie's," he said. I snorted. I highly doubted that Ariana actually chose to say the night again. I was relatively sure that Paul had asked her to sleep there again. Which meant that I had been out longer than I'd realized. "Are we going to talk? Please?" I looked up at him. Weren't we having a conversation? "Can you tell me what happened, Lotte?"

_"Catherine."_ He flinched and his face darkened in the same instant.

_"I saw her. She was here."_ She was here? I mean, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. She'd said that she wanted him, that Paul was hers. _"What happened, Charlotte?" _

I stiffened my spine, drawing up what little strength I had left in me. _"I was sitting in a cave by the ocean reading. She found me up there and asked if you'd brought me there."_ This woman deserved whatever punishment Paul wanted to dole out on her. Maybe not death... Okay, not death. But she did need to know that she would never have Paul; that he was going to be mine for the rest of my life. _"She said that you brought girls up to that spot to have sex with them, to make them feel special and all that. I told her that I was the special one then, because you'd never brought me up there."_ I smiled as I remembered the outraged look on Catherine's face. I may be deaf but that doesn't mean that I don't know how to make a comment burn more than any hot iron.

_"I tried to get away then but she just kept telling me that I couldn't have you, that you were hers. I told her that you were never hers to start with and that she was a bitch. But when I went to walk away, she threw a rock at me."_ He began shaking as his anger started taking over. _"I didn't say anything to her after that,"_ I admitted. He nodded, but he was still coming close to phasing. I snuggled into the warmth of his embrace and resting my head against his shoulder, not moving my hands again until I felt his cheek come down on my hair. _"I was so frustrated after she kicked me into the damned tree. I hit my head on the trunk and then I couldn't get up."_

_"Because of diving," _he supplied. I nodded even though it clearly wasn't a question.

_"So then I was just hoping that you would be able to find me." _He nodded again, his lip tucked so tightly between his lip, I wasn't the least bit surprised when I saw blood start trickling down his chin. He was frustrated, angry. I wanted her to pay. I wanted to keep her from hurting someone else again because she was jealous. But what if she was right?

What if there had been some part of Paul that _had_ loved her? I wasn't stupid enough to think that he still did. I knew for a fact that I was the only person that he was in love with. But what if the time that they had shared together had forged some kind of loyalty? It would only make sense that he would want to protect her? _"If you don't want me to press charges on her, Paul -"_

_"Are you fucking kidding me?"_ Oh; great. He'd finally learned to cuss in sign language. I was hoping to avoid that for as long as possible. _"She hurt you Charlotte. And after she'd hit you and _**_literally_**_ kicked you when you were down, she left you out in the middle of a summer storm in Forks. And then she had the guts to break into my house and tell me that she loved me. I was just trying to figure out one reason why I shouldn't phase and go after her. Let's find out if she even has a heart."_ Well... At least he wasn't shouting at me. _"We are sure as shit pressing charges. She broke into my house and attacked my imprint. I want her to pay for that in some way or another."_

Note to self: never incur the wrath of an imprinted wolf. I actually felt _sorry_ for Catherine.


	59. Chapter LVIII

**Author's Note: I'm super sorry that I've been a little slow lately. I'm going to have to readjust timetables soon because of work and stuff. It's not fair to you guys that I can't update like I'm supposed to. If anyone would be interested in seeing a more mature chapter in this story, please let me know. If you'd rather that I don't, just let me know. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXVIII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

I hadn't set foot in this place in ages. I hadn't been planning on being back here for any reason after I'd gotten my stern warning from Charlie Swan a few years back. I knew that I was La Push's bad boy, but I could honestly say that I had never been caught on the wrong side of the law. And I had no desire to change that tune any time soon. But I wasn't willing to sacrifice my imprint's safety. I had to be here; I had to get the bitch that tried to ruin her life away from us. "Can I speak to Chief Swan, please?"

Charlotte had fallen asleep again some time in the wee hours of the morning, happily cuddling with my pillow. And as much as I'd hated to leave her after her ordeal yesterday, I couldn't just let everything Catherine had done slide. I just had to thank God that we lived in a small town. None of the deputies, the two that were there, questioned me about my desire to speak to the chief of police. They just kindly walked me down to the back office, knocking and informing their boss that someone was here to see him. "Paul, what can I do for you?" he asked, standing up. He was shocked, I could see it. It had only been a few years since I'd almost been caught with drugs. "What can I do for you?"

"My girlfriend was attacked and my home was broken into," I said.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Chief Swan asked, stunned that I had said anything.

"My girlfriend, Charlotte Rivers, was attacked by Catherine Reed," I said. Apparently I had a thing people with the initials C.R. I didn't bother to over analyze it. I just pressed forward. "And then Catherine broke into my house. I want to press charges," I explained.

"You want to press charges? Against a woman?"

"What does her gender have to do with any of this?" I snapped.

"Statistically, women are not charge with these kinds of crimes as often as men," he explained. "But who really cares about statistics? What evidence do you have to your claims?" he demanded.

"The assault my im- - My girlfriend was attacked by her. She's sitting at home right now in bed, completely asleep with a gash in her back because of Catherine Reed. She'll testify and tell them about it," I promised him. "And my house was locked. She was waiting in my bedroom when I got home from my friend's house," I explained.

"Paul, your intentions are great, but you can't file the complaint for her."

"She broke into my house," I shouted. If I couldn't protect my imprint from her in that way, then I wanted to be able to at least get the bitch in some kind of way. I had no doubt that Charlotte would press charged when I explained it to her. But that didn't take care of here and now. I needed to get Catherine Reed out of our lives.

"We can deal with that outside," Chief Swan said. He led me to another deputy who walked me through the entire procedure and what would need to happen. It seemed like ages later that they were telling me that I was done. I was gripping the steering wheel with a white knuckled grip, trying to keep myself from breaking the car and phasing to get out of Forks and safely into La Push. Despite the anxiety, it really wasn't_ that_ long before I was back on the Rez and pulling up to my house.

I ran myself up the porch stairs, absently thinking about needing to sweep the dust. It was early in the morning, only about eight. When I had left, Charlotte was still asleep, her head pillowed on _my_ pillow. But as son as I opened the door, I couldn't smell coffee or breakfast. I could hear her slow and steady heartbeat. Clearly, she wasn't awake yet. And I was in no hurry to remedy that. In fact, I pushed open the door to see her clutching at my side of the bed, and quickly stripped off my shirt and jeans and crawled into bed beside her.

She must have woken up shortly after I left because she was wrapped up in one of my flannel shirts that I rarely wore now. I wasn't sure if it was wolf or man that liked seeing her in my clothing, but damn if I didn't love it. It had to be the hottest fucking thing that I had ever seen. I slithered into bed beside her, moving to pull her against my chest but she pulled away, slowing rolling to look at me. "Good morning," I muttered.

She smiled, but I could see the dark smudges of exhaustion on her face. _"I feel gross."_ I frowned. Of course she did; she had been sitting out in the wet forest for God knows how long and then the only thing that I had given her was a warm rinse in the bathtub. _"I probably smell like bad forest."_ She looked so solemn, so tired. I just wanted to see her smile, to see the little whirlwind of life in my arms again. So what did I do? I rolled over her and pressed my nose into her neck. I sucked in and exhaled air quickly, acting like more of a dog than a human. She couldn't hear the heaviness of my breath, but she could feel my chin digging into the ticklish part of her neck and my breath on her skin.

"You smell fine to me." She rolled her eyes. "But if you insist -" I scooped her up, listening to her giggled and placed her in the shower right before I started it. "I best make sure that you don't fall," I added. She rolled her eyes but when I stepped in behind her, she sank back in my arms like she needed my strength to stand up. I just stood against the back wall and watched her while she washed herself off, thinking that I was wrong about what the hottest sight in the world was. It was definitely this. I wrapped my hands around her shoulders and pulled her around to face me.

"I went down to see Charlie Swan this morning," I said. She nodded. I had a funny thought, suddenly, when I saw her nod. I had thought that she was slow or that something was wrong with her because she was deaf. But that quiet nod meant more to me than a worded or even signed response. Her nod meant that she was paying attention. And there were ver few ways to get that across otherwise. "I can't press charges on Catherine for the assault."

_"You want to get her arrested?"_

_"I don't know if she would be arrested."_ She didn't look like that was the reaction that she was expecting. "_But I want her to know that there are consequences for her actions. She doesn't get to go around beating people up and leaving them in the forests without there being a reaction to it."_ She frowned at me, like she was the one who didn't understand sign language. _"Don't you want to press charges?"_

_"Is it even worth it, Paul? I mean, it's just a jealous woman who can't believe that she lost her man to me."_ I wanted to ask her what she saw, what she thought of when she thought of us. But I held my tongue. _"Do you really want to put Ariana through all of that stress?" _

_"What does Ari have to do with all of this?"_ It didn't make any sense at all. I could do anything and everything to take care of her. _"She would want to keep you safe, Lotte. And I'm not saying that we have to try and get Catherine thrown in jail or ruin her life. I'm just saying she can't think that what she did was okay."_ She sighed and I stepped closer, my mind thinking of a million other things that I could do to her while we were wet and naked in a shower. _"Press charges, Charlotte. Make sure that she doesn't do this to anyone else."_

_"Whatever you say."_ I smiled at the signs and leaned down to kiss her, my fingers ghosting over the little mark in her back, just to the left of her spine. She hissed and flinched a little, her muscles tensing. I kept the pressure light until she was used to it and I could grab her tight. I kissed her then, keeping it light and kind. She pulled back, shoving against my chest with a smile on her face. _"You know, we're alone until tonight."_ I smiled at her and laughed, letting her clasp my face between her hands.

"I love you, Lotte," I whispered even if she couldn't hear it.


	60. Chapter LIX

**Author's Note: I'm really, really, really sorry that it's been so long. I'm rearranging timetables so that I can be more consistent with my updates again. I'm sorry that I've been such a disappointment lately. WARNING: It's definitely mature tonight. Please let me know what you think. If you like it, let me know. If you'd like to see more, let me know. If you hate it and would hate for me to write anything like this for this story again, please let me know. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LIX**

_"You know, we're all alone tonight."_ That bitch had thought that she could have him, that Paul would ever choose her over him. He smiled at me and his shoulders shook with laughter, but I was so overcome with joy. I knew what people said about Paul, what kind of a reputation he had. Whether it was true or not, he'd still chosen me over every other girl who vied for his attention. So he could laugh at me all he wanted because I was the girl that got to see that crooked smile on his face when he did.

Not willing to watch him say anything more or try to decipher the words from his lips, I framed his beautiful, large, strong-jawed face with my hands and pressed my lips to his. At first, I was just trying to get him to focus on me. My mind registered that he was saying something, but my eyes refused to process the movements and make them become words. There was fire in my belly, flames licking at my heart and throat and forcing me to do more. So I did.

I slithered my arms around his neck and pulled him tight to my chest, feeling the smoothness of my breasts against the hard angles of his. One hand stayed on the small of my back, pressing me closer to him. His other hand, cover, found the naked roundness of my bottom, gripping and tugging on the skin. I whimpered, but it wasn't from the pain that I could feel. No, much more prevalent than the pinpricks of pain was the delicious pleasure that was caused by him tugging on my skin. He smiled against my mouth and slid his other hand down, cupping me with both hands until he was lifting me upwards.

I braced my hands on his shoulders and wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his hot breath on my neck. He was muttering and murmuring, I was sure of it. I could feel the tremble of his voice against my chest. There was a part of me that wished I had other deaf friends or another deaf couple to talk to about all of this. I wan't sure how to tell him what I wanted from him, what I needed. In the past, it hadn't been necessary. Paul understood my body and played me like an instrument. But now, with the hot water pelting my back and Paul sucking on my neck, I couldn't figure out how to tell him that I was tired of just kissing him.

In all the time that Paul and I had been together, we'd only had sex a handful of times. Between his sister and his constant need to protect his family, we were rarely alone long enough for anything to happen. And when it did, it was always in the safety of our bedroom, where I had room to wiggle and reposition myself and tell him exactly what I wanted from him. Here, our mouths melded together like stone, I didn't have any way to communicate.

And then it hit me.

I spoke through my hands every single day. I told people what I thought, what I felt, asked about their days, talked about our wants and desires. So why should this be any different? With that thought, I snaked one arm around his neck. He could hold me with one hand, I was sure of it, but I still felt better holding myself to him too. I drew my nails down his shoulder, circling the little hollow made by his collar bone a few times, feeling the goosebumps ripple over his skin. His mouth released my neck, air blowing over my neck as he groaned against my skin. I felt something sharp rub up against the exposed flesh, but I didn't try to pull away from it. Paul would never hurt me.

I trailed my nails down his chest a little more, fingers grazing his collar bone. However, our chests were pressed too close together for me to get between us. I settled for his sides, bumping over his ribs until I reached the 'v' formed by the muscles of his hips. He still in his motions again, that sharpness threatening my skin again. I wanted to look, to see what it was, to ask him if everything was okay. But instead, my hand found its prize. He sucked in a tight breath, his chest swelling between us. He shoved my hand away quickly and dropped me gently to the ground, turning us so that I was out of the water's path and pressed against the wall that he'd been using as support.

There were rumors about Paul, about the number of women that he'd been with, about a million other things where sex was concerned. We'd talked about it. Hell, I'd even forced him to get tested. Don't ask how that conversation went... He'd sworn that Catherine was the only person he'd ever been with. But his hands' abilities said otherwise. Dipping his mouth to my breast, he found his way down to my core. It was only moments later that he had me moaning and writhing against his hand, my hips rocking against his palm while his fingers worked the button that no other man had messed with.

I wanted to tell him that I was about to lose my mind and the rest of my control when he released me and wrapped his arm around my waist. Like I weighed little more than a feather, he lifted me with one hand and guided himself in with the other. I moaned when I felt the tip of him slide inside me. Slowly, intensely, cruelly, slow, he pressed inside me until we our hip bones were flushed against each other. I buried my hands in his hair, scratching at his scalp in the way that I knew he loved. He'd brought his head up to my neck and was placing wet kisses along my collarbone, forcing my head back into the tile wall.

And then he moved. I bit down on my lip and moaned as the length of him moved along inside of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck again, feeling his hands on my waist. Forcibly, he lifted me and lowered me again and again. There was nothing I could do to take control, nothing I could do to help him along. He slowed a little and readjusted his hold on me, slowly thrusting up into me again. I gasped at the new sensation that was there with the new positioning. I shivered and shuddered, but he kept going, his pace growing desperate.

With a white flash of light, my heart stuttered and my breath caught in my throat. I clasped onto to Paul's shoulders, glad that my steady rock was there to hold me while I shuddered and gasped. Of course, my reliance on him didn't stop his speedy thrusts. His mouth found mine for the first time in the course of the night, moving against my lips in a way that I couldn't even describe. I could feel him begging for something in his kiss, but I didn't know what it was.

With one final thrust, he pressed himself deep into me while his mouth found my neck. And that something sharp was his teeth, his long canines sinking deep into my flesh. I had expected the pain the moment that I realized he was going to bite me and it was there. But I wasn't prepared for the joy that exulted through me and begged for release. Release that I gratefully gave as I trembled alongside him. All too soon, though, it was over.

His teeth were replaced by his tongue. The long, wet member slid along marks on my neck that I didn't know I had. And then he kissed it, his lips soothing away any pain that I had been feeling. We still hadn't moved though, our bodies joined in every sense of the word. With my back pressed against the wall, I released my chokehold on his neck and looked at him. His eyes were hooded with lust and exhaustion, but he still smiled.

I slid my right had to the mark on my left side. "It's a mark." His face tinged pink, but I decided that it was from the combined heat of the water and the sex. "Wolves give it to our imprints as a sign of protection." I nodded, but tried to explain without words that I was still confused. "I, uh, I should have asked you before." I frowned. "You know, the heat of the moment and all of that, you know."

"I'm not mad," I whispered, unsure if my hands would move well enough to get my point across. Paul beamed at me. "What will it mean for me? Any super powers?"

He laughed at me and kissed me gently. "No, no super powers. When something that isn't human comes after you, you won't smell like you're completely human. It warns vampires and the other wolves that you're mine and they should back the fuck off." I nodded and fingered the little holes again. "Lotte, I want you to feel like you're the most important thing in my life. I don't want you to think that there are other things that come before you." I frowned. I mean, I'd only ever been with him, but I was pretty sure this wasn't the pillow, or shower wall, talk that was supposed to happen after sex. "I love you."  
"I love you too," I replied. "And I don't feel neglected. Especially not after that," I blushed. He laughed, the sound I couldn't hear reverberated off the walls and kissed me again until I couldn't breathe and I was seeing black spots in my vision. "Or that," I muttered.


	61. Chapter LX

**Author's Note: I know it's been a while. I'm really sorry that's it's been so long. But here's the chapter. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**Chapter LX**

Paul and I had ended up in bed later that night. Not clothed, naturally, which only made things awkward when Ari came home the next morning. We were tangled in each other and hopefully some sheets when she had walked in. Paul must have screamed at her because I felt his chest underneath my vibrating. And then he had me pinned underneath him, his sister staring at his naked ass. I don't think I'd ever been so grateful to be deaf. There were a few moments were the tenseness was literally hanging in the air. I bit my lip and stared at Paul's chest, hoping that it would just be over.

And then he looked down at me, a pink tinge to his cheeks. "Everything okay?" he asked. I smiled at him and pulled my hands from their spots on his hips.

_"I wan't the one that got caught naked in front of his sister."_ I laughed at him as his expression fell for a mock serious one. _"Are _**_you_**_ okay?"_

"You are ridiculous." I just smiled at him and waited for him to respond to me. "Yes; I'm fine. It may be the first time that I've ever been caught in bed with another woman, but it's not the first time that my sister has ever seen me naked."

_"Why would your sister see you naked?"_ I laughed at him. He frowned and pressed a gentle kiss to my brow.

"I'm going to take Ariana to Emily's for the day. You go shower and get ready." He was smiling down at me like he had something planned. I'm not sure that I liked that look.

_"What about Ariana?"_

"What about her?"

_"Are you just going to keep sending her away whenever you want us to be alone?"_ That didn't seem at all fair to Ari. _"We can figure something else out."_

"Babe, it has nothing to do with not wanting her to be around. I love my sister and I want her around, but you're not seeming to understand this. You are the most important person that I have in my life."

_"But Ari -"_

"Will meet a guy someday that will love her and care for her in a way that I can't," he supplied. "But that's not what I was talking about. I love my sister more than anything in the world, but you've already solved every problem that Ari has. Now it's time for us to just be together."

_"So then why do I need to be ready?"_

He leaned down and kissed me deeply, his tongue plunging into my mouth and twirling around my own. I was breathless when he finally decided to pull away and leave me be. "Dress nice and be ready when I come back, okay?" I was dazed and more than a little confused in my own mind, but I managed to nod.

He cautiously covered me with the sheet before he got out of the bed, his mouth already moving in a wide motion to shout at Ariana. I just lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He wanted me to get dressed up? So that we could go somewhere? Like... Like a date? Was Paul LaHote taking me on a date? We'd never actually gone on a date. The thought made me laugh. We'd had sex, survived surgery, and dealt with vampires. But Paul and I had never actually been on a date.

He came back in before he left with his sister and pressed a kiss to my forehead. _"Paul, what am I even supposed to wear?"_

"Something comfortable." I stared at him. "We're going out for a nice night. Jeans, nice shirt, and whatever kinds of shoes that you want." So heels it was. I never had an excuse to wear them anyways. "I'll be back in a little bit, baby." I nodded and kissed him gently before watching him walk out the door.

I laid down in the bed again, smiling up at the ceiling. A date with Paul LaHote... I don't think anything has ever sounded more gloriously. I jumped up after a few more moments, flying through all of my morning chores and dragging a cup of coffee into the bathroom with me. I took extra time shaving, which was ridiculous. I hadn't shaved in like a week and Paul had still had sex with me the night before. Regardless, it was one of those girl things that I couldn't quite condone going without. I carefully washed through my hair and used a new body wash that I liked the smell of.

I wasn't someone that was prone to primping and pampering but I was hell bent and determined to look my best for this night out. So I dried my hair and took time to straighten any already straight strands that weren't lying the way that I wanted them to. I dusted my face with a little shimmer bronzer before I began on my eyes. Some pinks and browns and neutral colors that wouldn't really change anything to highlight my eyes, some eyeliner and mascara, and I was prepared. With the exception of shoes.

I really loved high heels; probably more than I should. I never really had reasons to dress up or look nice. Back when I was living with my father, I was expected to look like a nice young lady. Since I was no longer living with him, though, I had no reason to wear dresses or heels. And most of the time, I was okay with that. I liked the freedom of wearing jeans and t-shirts and not feeling like I had to be there to impress someone everyday. But this would be the one chance for me to show Paul that I knew how to be a proper lady when I needed to be.

I stepped into the black and cream dress. The front neckline was high and modest, just a few inches below my collarbone. The appeal that I was looking for came where I stopped, at mid thigh with a little crocheted end. And then there was the back which was completely cut out from the top nap of my neck to the center of my back. I paired it off with a pair of bright red heels that would give me about another five inches of height. Careful of any wrinkles that I didn't want to create, I perched myself on the edge of our couch and waited patiently for him to come home.

Paul barely noticed me as he sprinted back into the house. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as he ran by to get to the bathroom. He only made a few steps into the small room, however, before he was backtracking. He held his hand out to me then, a smile on his face and wonder in his eyes. He pulled me up to stand on full height, now a few inches over six-foot. Then he dropped my hand and circled me. It was on my lips to ask him if he was a vulture, but he looked so serious I didn't dare. When he'd made the full three-hundred-sixty degrees, he stepped up close and kissed me sweetly and chastely.

_"You look beautiful, baby. Honestly and truly, I've never seen anyone look as stunning as you do right now."_ I smiled under his praise. _"Let me go shower and get some clean clothes on and then we'll get going."_

_"Where?"_

_"Now, if I were going to tell you, then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"_

_"What is it with you wolves and surprises?" _I demanded. Ryanne had told me about Jake's spontaneous surprises for her. And then, of course, there was the biggest surprise that Nate had set up for Leah. _"Do you all talk to each other and decide when you're all going to do things together?"_

_"Are you complaining about our family?"_

_"Never. No go get dressed,"_ I replied. _"You smell."_ He laughed and pressed another kiss to my forehead, still staring at me as he walked away.

It was barely fifteen minutes later that Paul was leading me out to his truck, fitting his hands to my waist and lifting me up so that I wouldn't have to jump to get into his truck. He got in on the other side and began driving, his gaze never straying from me. _"Are you going to look at the road sometime today? Because I can drive if it's too distracting for you."_

_"You hate driving at night."_

"Both hands on the wheel!" I shouted at him. He just smiled and reached over to grab my hand. "Do I get to know where we're going now?" I asked.

"Nope; but I know that you're going to enjoy it." I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. He rubbed his thumb over my hand, the friction sending shivers down my spine and reminding me of the night before.

_You are now entering Port Angeles. _

Well, I guess that would answer the question of wear at noon we were going.


	62. Chapter LXI

**Author's Note: I know that I'm late but FanFiction wouldn't let me to upload this chapter. Super sorry. Please see the new update times on my profile. They will not be changing until school starts again in late August. By that time, however, I intend to have most of these stories finished so that I can start proof reading a book that I've been working on. We'll just see. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXII**

Paul pulled off of the freeway at the first exit for downtown Port Angeles. Any girls would be curious, but I was starting to get restless when he pulled into a parking spot on the curb. _"You know, noon isn't exactly night. I could have driven,"_ I signed as I remembered his earlier statement about my despising driving at night.

His hands found their way to my waist again, holding me alight while he helped me out of the car. Once down, he linked our arms together and steered me down towards the theater. _"Now, if I did that, you would have known where we were going. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to drive when your shoes are that tall."_ He pointed a glance down at the high stilettos that I was wearing. _"I didn't know that you owned shoes like that."_

_"I've been waiting for a good night to wear them. Life just hasn't slowed down yet."_ I shrugged, not the least bit perturbed by our hectic lives. If the business of our days meant that I got to say goodnight to Ariana and lay down next to Paul night after night, then I considered it worth it. I rested my head on his shoulder and let him steer me down the sidewalk. _"Are you going to tell me what we're doing? Because I didn't have to get _**_this_**_ dressed up for an afternoon out."_

_"I like seeing you dressed up."_ I looked up at him with a glare, telling him silently to answer my question. He slithered an arm around my waist and yanked me out of the way of some man riding his bike on the sidewalk. I looked up to find Paul shouting at the man; but that would do nothing but make Paul angrier. So I reached over with my right arm and squeezed his bicep, drawing his attention down to me. _"He shouldn't have ever been on the sidewalk,"_ he argued. I just shrugged.

_"Where are we going?"_

_"You'll see."_ I frowned and let him guide me down the street and finally pull me to a theater. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows as he pulled me around to see a poster for _Wicked_ standing in front of me. _"You said one time that you always wanted to go see a play." _I nodded, remembering the day that he was talking about. _"But your father would never take you because it was a waste of money to take a deaf girl to see a play."_ I nodded again. _"Come on."_

He led me into the theater, pulling two tickets out of his back pocket. With his hand gently guiding me down the aisle, I was left to stare at him in disbelief. There was no way that he had actually bought tickets to go and see this play. My father had been right about that part of our lives. I was deaf; it was pointless to buy fifty dollar tickets for something that I would never hear. As we neared the entrance of the house seats, however, Paul swept me up to the side and led me to a private balcony seating area. Way more than fifty dollars. Paul smiled at my bewildered expression and led me to my seat. _"Paul, this is way too much."_ His grin broadened and he pulled me down into his lap instead of my seat. _"You can't."_

"It's a matinee, first of all," he said. That may have made the seats cheaper but it didn't change the fact that this private box was expensive. "And it's not too much, Lotte. You said yourself that you've always to see a play. So if I can do this for you, it's not too much." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and lifted me up so that I was sitting in my own chair. "I'm going to grab some stuff," he said, leaning down and bracing his weight on the arms of my chairs. "I'll be right back." He kissed me again and stood on his way.

I couldn't believe that he planned all of this. He'd been saying the other he was nothing more than a rough around the edges man. There was no soft side to him. But this was the biggest lie that I had ever heard. I was staring at the soft side of him. He'd been kind enough to figure out one of the things that I had always dreamed about. And not just made the dream come true; Paul had gone above and beyond to make sure that this was something special. The curtain fluttered and grabbed my attention, pulling me from my happy thoughts of the wolf that I loved.

"Sorry, ma'am," the tall, dark haired man in front of me said. I just nodded and smiled, hoping that he would walk away. Usually when people made mistakes and walked in, a little hand wave told them that it was fine. But the man in front of me didn't move. He stepped closer to me, forcing me to frown at him in response. "I was curious as to where a mutt came from. I'd never smelt one in this town before."

My marking. Paul had said that it was supposed to ward off danger, not attract people. Still, I tried to keep myself calm and my face straight while he stepped even closer. "I have to say that you don't smell like any of the one's that I've met before." I flinched when he stepped even closer, his chest rising with what I assumed was a deep inhale. "There's something...human about you." I bit my lip, trying to downplay the fear coursing through me. If he knew about the wolves, which I was sure that he did, then he was something supernatural. And if he wasn't human, then he could hurt me. "So that begs the question what are you?"

I kept silent, staring at him with wide, unemotional eyes. It was better this way. If I wasn't showing any real feelings, there was nothing he could do to hurt me. Mentally, anyways. "Do you think holding your tongue is going to do anything for you?" I just kept my gaze fixed on him, praying that Paul would finish whatever it was that he was doing. "Beneath that utterly repulsive smell is this deliciousness," he continued. "I'm dying for a taste." I jumped to my feet when he moved closer to me again. Paul, my mind cried. He needed to come and find me. I needed him to save me once again.

I had no way of calling for him, not without breaking my silence. I just had to manage to stall long enough to keep this man here while Paul came back. "You don't need to be afraid. Just a bite and then I'll decide whether I want to kill you or just leave you." I took a deep breath, shuddering with it. "The smell of fear just makes you smell a little better. But good Lord if you don't smell like a sopping wet mongrel." He grimaced. "How did you get in here anyways?" he asked. My chest rose and fell unevenly as he continued to ask his questions. His chest heaved in a heavy sigh. "It's no fun to play with dinner when it won't play back." I bit the inside of my lip and began edging my way to the curtain threshold, my only thought being Paul and how I could best get myself over to him.

With a slight puff of air, the man was at my side, his nose skimming along my neck and jawline. I'm sure I let out some startled squeak because the man's next words were, "That's a good girl. Now fight back a little." His chest was pressed against mine. I couldn't see his mouth anymore, so I tried to focus on the feel of him against me. I tried to figure out if he was saying anything, if he expected anything from me. But I couldn't feel a heart beating in his chest. His chest was rising and falling like he was breathing, but I couldn't feel the vibrations of air flooding into his lungs. He was a vampire. That was the only excuse.

He could smell me. He could tell that I was marked, but he clearly didn't know what Paul was. Or _who_ Paul was. Because if he did, I wouldn't find myself in this situation. Anyone who knew Paul's temper and intolerance for danger that involved his family would know better than to try to hurt me. And then I could feel something sharp trying to press into my skin. I cried out and shoved away, but it did me no good. He kept his grip firm, bruises forming, and drew me tight to his chest. He pulled back to look at me. "You will not get away from me." But I would. This is what I get for wanting to be normal for just one night. His hand pressed over my mouth, whatever sounds I was making but couldn't hear being drowned out by the muscles in his hand.

"Now, let's see about that bite."


	63. Chapter LXII

**Author's Note: Okay, so here's tonight's chapter. I hope you all enjoy and review for me. And thanks for the Guest review about being too hard on myself. Also, if you would all tell me how you would feel about a Jared & Kim story, please review or PM. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXIII:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Holy fucking God she looked hot. Her dress was pretty well backless and when I'd had my hand on the small of her back, I could feel the heat of her against my hand and couldn't help but dream about the night in the shower. And then there was the glittery look in her eyes when she'd realized that I was taking her to her first play. I mean, it was mine too but it was a little more special for her. _"Paul this is way too much." _I just beamed at her. There were two chairs there for us to sit in, but I really preferred to see her in my lap. _"You can't,"_ she insisted when I had given her an answer.

"It's a matinee, first of all." She just kept staring at me like I was the knight in shining armor. "And it's not too much, Lotte. You said yourself that you've always wanted to see a play. So if I can do this for you, it's not too much." I kissed her forehead and gently deposited her in the other chair. "I'm going to grab some stuff. I'll be right back." Her pink lips were just begging to be kissed and I couldn't help myself. I leaned down for another kiss, thinking about the entire evening that we had ahead of us. This showing of _Wicked_ was only the beginning.

I marched down the stairs and to the snack bar. I almost wished that I had brought her with me so that I would have another person to hold all the stuff I was planning on buying. "Paul LaHote?" I recognized the voice a little but not enough to place the name or face. I turned, wishing that I had waited until the line died down a little so that I wouldn't be stuck here watching. "I never thought I would have seen the day that you'd be in a theater," he laughed.

"I didn't think you were this class either, Skid," I replied easily, wishing that I hadn't turned around. I had gotten out of his ring. I didn't want to be back running for him. And it would only be harder now that he knew I was out of trouble. "What the fuck are you doing here man?" I asked him.

"Taking my mom," he explained. "You running again?" I shook my head.

"Nah, I don't do that shit anymore. I've got my sister and my girl to take care of," I said.

"You were a good runner, man. You could make a good deal of money again. You should give Skinny a call," Skid said, running his hands through his hair.

"Nah, man; I'm good," I said. "I've got a job and my girls. I'm good to go."

"Pussy," he scoffed at me. "If you ever -"

"I don't," I interrupted. There was no need to confuse him and let him think that he even stood a chance. "I'm not going back to that life. I've got a family now. But thanks." The line had moved while I wasn't paying attention to it. So I walked forward and looked at the person sitting in front of me.

"You know, I've seen a lot of sides of you, Paul, but I ain't never seen this _soft_ side of you," Skid said.

"I got the mean, the fun, and the angry," I replied.

"And the soft? Because let me tell you, you're a fucking bitch right now."

"My soft side's upstairs," I said, thinking about Lotte. "And if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to her."

I ordered some candy and two sodas for us and started towards the little box that I had gotten us. Her father had never taken her to see a play because it was a waste when she couldn't hear the words. So I had gone through the trouble of getting a private box for her so that I could sign the music and she could know what was going on without feeling like she was distracting other people watching the play. That was my girl. She was always seeking comfort for everyone else but never thinking about herself. I smiled as I neared the hallway that would lead me to her but it quickly fell to a snarl.

Leech.

I sped forward, almost dropping the food as I rushed towards my imprint's side. "Will you stop fighting me?" a man's voice snarled. I could hear Charlotte whimpering and groaning as she tried to get the man away from her. "Clearly you're human. A real mongrel would have tossed me over this balcony in an instant." She whimpered again.

"Allow me," I growled. I was impressed that I managed to keep my temper in check long enough to put the food down. I forced my way between my imprint and the vampires that was in our area. "What the fuck are you doing?" I wrapped my arms around Charlotte, pulling her tight to my chest. Her tan skin was blotched and red from her attempts to stay calm with the vampire in the room. "Who are you?"

"So you're the mutt," he said with a large nod. "So that would make her your mate." Lotte had her arms around my waist, anchoring herself to my chest. I kept one hand on the back of her head and checked her body with my other hand. I couldn't feel any breaks or bruises. She didn't hiss or pull away. If anything, she sank further into my arms. "She is a strong little thing. Wouldn't let me get a taste."

I was shaking, trying desperately to keep her safe in my arms and keep myself in control of my temper. I wasn't going to ruin this night for her. Lotte was going to have the night of her dreams if it killed the vampire in front of me. "Get the fuck out of here before I kill you," I snarled. He coughed a laugh.

"I'd like to see you try," he chuckled. I took a step forward, thinking to rip the head off the monster and get rid of it once and for all. But once I moved my foot, she cried out and tried to hold me closer. "I think I'll stay right here." I could feel myself shaking more and more as he turned to make himself more comfortable.

"Let go for just a minute, Lotte," I pleaded with her. "Just trust me and let me go." She released my waist and let me set her aside. I rushed at the leech in front of us, managing to get his arm pinned behind him in a chicken wing, pushing harder and harder until I could feel the marble skin of his arm beginning to crack, the sound starting to echo in our small space. "Get out and stay out or I'll rip your arm off."

"Let me go," he coughed. "Let me go." I shoved him out the curtain passageway and waited until I could no longer smell his immediate scent. But yet, even after that, I didn't turn back to my imprint. I dug into my pocket and pulled my phone out.

_"What do you want, Paul?"_ Jake asked me in a grumpy tone.

"I'm in Port Angeles and there's a leech."

_"I'll send Quil and Jared. Thanks for the heads up."_ I was a little peeved that he didn't ask for any more information but a quiet whisper of a moan sounded from behind me.

"Yeah, yeah sure thing. Got to go." I hung up on him without waiting for an farewell or anything. I turned back to find Charlotte standing against the railing, staring at the busy crowd that was completely unaware of what had gone on up here. "Charlotte." She was staring at me, but I don't think that she really saw me. "Lotte." I stepped up closer to her and rested my hands on her shoulders.

That was all it took for her to crack.

She snaked her arms around me again, her cheek resting against my chest. She was just beside my heart. And I'm sure that the muscle was beating a thousands miles a minute. She didn't cry, she didn't sob. She was trembling and shuddering, but she didn't let a single tear fall. "I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered. How was I supposed to keep her safe? Was that what I was supposed to learn from this? Because I had already figured out that I couldn't protect her from the rest of the world. It didn't matter what I'd tried. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, Lotte."

I walked over to the chairs and placed her in my lap, making sure to keep her skirt down over her lap so that se didn't feel exposed. She sat there, staring at the walls and taking in her shaky breaths. After what seemed like an eternity, she looked up at me. _"He wouldn't let me go. And I was afraid of what would happen if I called for you. I'm sorry."_

I just hushed her. Naturally, she would be apologizing for things that she had nothing to do with. I used the edge of my fingers to tilt her face up so that she had a clear view of me. "It's taken care of and you don't have to worry about it. So just watch the show and we'll move on." She looked up at me with surprise in her beautiful brown eyes. "Everything's okay now."

"You haven't shouted yet," she whispered.

I hadn't phased... and I hadn't shouted.


	64. Chapter LXIII

**Author's Note: Okay, I know that there was no chapter yesterday so here's tonight's. Those who read ****_Consequences _****and ****_Down to Nothing, _****Please know that I'm not posting those chapters tonight so I can get all caught up. Enjoy!**

**Chapter LXIII**

Paul to the rescue. He wrapped his arms around me and sheltered me while I waited for the disaster to be over. His hands rubbed up and over my back and shoulders. He told me to enjoy the night, enjoy the time that he'd planned for us. But it was nearly impossible with the impending threat. I guess it wasn't impending anymore, but I could still feel it. He hushed me and held me, trying to calm me down, even after he promised that everything would be okay. And then it dawned on me that he had yet to scream and shout at anyone. I had been expecting him to phase, to lose his mind and turn into a wolf. Instead, his hold on me was unspeakably tender. I tilted my chin up so that I would look at him again. "Enjoy the play, baby." He leaned down and kissed me, shifting me in his lap so that I was sitting at the perfect angle to watch the play.

The lights dimmed and smoke filled the room as the people began singing and vibrations began bouncing off the walls. Paul's arms wrapped around me and met in front of ribs. His hands formed each and every word that was being spoken, shaking when the people had to hold the long notes. Right in front of me, in between the stage and my face. I could see everything, the people, the smoke, the band. With Paul's hands right there too, I could practically hear everything happening around me.

I watched with awe as the people emerged. And while I could see the harnesses that were holding up the flying monkeys and the good witch. I asked almost no questions and Paul interpreted everything to perfection. I was enthralled, watching the lights spin and twirl, the colors shift. And just when the main character had renounced her good ways and determined that no good deed goes unpunished, the lights went dark and the music faded. And then the lights around the house turned on. I pulled my attention from the stage back to Paul. "How you doing?"

_"Good."_

"All better?"

_"I was never really bad."_ He gave me a look that said that he didn't believe me. _"I was just... frightened. If I called for you, then he would know that I couldn't fight him. And then you weren't coming back and I panicked. I was afraid that he would find out that I'm deaf and then he would - -"_

"It's okay, Lotte." His hand was over my hair then, wrapping the strands around his fingers, gently tugging. "He's not going to get you anymore. I'm here now." I rested back in his arms happily, looking out at the crowd. "Here, I brought us some snacks." I greedily grabbed at the licorice rope that he'd bought, watching him smile in response. "And a soda." I loved this man. There was a long pause while he waited for me to take a sip of my drink and a bite of my rope. "What happened there, babe?"

_"He just came in. He said that he could smell me, that I didn't smell completely human."_ He nodded, his fingers sliding over my mark on my neck. _"It was because of this, huh?"_

"It's supposed to give you protection." He looked so broken, so despaired. "I didn't think that this was could be anything bad for you."

_"You didn't do anything wrong, Paul."_ It was the way that things were supposed to go. He was supposed to mark me. _"I'm glad that you did this."_

"But it hurt you, Lotte. He hurt you."

"_He _**_tried_**_ to hurt me, Paul."_ He glared at me. _"He tried but he didn't succeed. You and I both know that if he had, you would have sensed it. You would have been here in an instant."_ He didn't seem to car about what I was saying. _"Please, Paul. Please. You want me to move on and enjoy our night. I need you to do the same."_ He sighed, the air puffing over my face. _"You controlled your temper, Paul. Now move on."_

He looked away from me then and stared at nothing in particular. Apparently a distraction was necessary. I so wanted to enjoy our time. I so wanted to go on this date. I grabbed his chin and turned him towards me. He came willingly enough. It would never cease to amaze me to see the power that I had over him. He could fight me any time that he wanted, but he always followed, always came willingly. I reached up and found his lips. I could honestly say that it was rare that I was the one to initiate a kiss. When I did, it was usually just a passing peck or a sweet caress. But I was on a mission this time. I wanted him to pay attention to me an the present that we were in. I wanted him to dream about the future that we would have one day and not the things that could go wrong.

I slid my hand over his cheek to the back of his neck and pulled on the strands of his hair, feeling a moan pass from his mouth to min. The air around me seemed to shudder as I slid my tongue out of my mouth and along his bottom lip. As I fully expected, he opened and let me in so that I could slide my muscle along his. He groaned again, his hand tangling in my hair and mussing the masterpiece that I had spent so much time creating. And I didn't care. Slowly, I pulled away from him and sat myself up in his lap. _"You've got my attention."_ I smiled at him as his signs processed.

"I love you," I whispered instead. Turning away from him, content that I had successfully won the unspoken argument, I picked up my candy and watched the lights dim again. The actors flooded onto the stage again, the stories being explained and acted out in front of my eyes. It was like any movie that I had ever seen a million times better. I watched the members of the orchestra pull the strings, push down on the keys, blow into their instruments. I knew when the music went louder; the vibrations went crazy on the walls around me.

Every time that I looked up, I would find Paul staring at me and not the people that he had paid so much money o see. I guess it was really me that he wanted to see, not the people on the stage. It was this, this happy-go-lucky crazy smile on my face that he wanted to see. Not the actors. And when the play was finally finished, I was almost sad. Like every one else in the audience, I stood and clapped although I have no way of knowing whether it was as loud as everyone else. Then Paul took my hand in his, grinning like a mad fool. "I"m glad that you like it."

I jerked my hand free of his. _"It was amazing Paul! Thank you so much for doing this! I couldn't even have imagined it being this great!"_ He laughed and pulled me against his side. With his arm wrapped around my shoulders, he led me from the theater, but not to the car. _"Where are we going?"_

"Don't trust me?"

_"I always trust you." _He smiled at me but didn't give me an answer. I settled against his side and let him guide me through the crowd. Until we reached the restrooms. I tugged and pulled against his arms. Wordlessly, he nodded and nudged me towards the bathroom and turned to go to the men's side.

For being a girl's restroom, I must say that I was out of there in record time. Paul, on the other hand, was not. I stood against a pillar, waiting patiently for him to come out. A tap on my shoulder sent me into a pirouette with a smile on my face, so sure that it was Paul. But as fate would have it, it wasn't.

_"You look beautiful."_

_"What are you doing here?"_ I demanded.

_"I saw you standing here."_ I glared at him. _"You aren't going to say anything?"_

_"I have nothing to say. You've made sure of that. Remember all the years that I told you I wanted to go to speech therapy and you told me it was a waste of time?"_ I couldn't believe that he was here. There was a part of me that wanted to scream and tell him in a very Paul-like tone to get the fuck away from me. My father was never the man that I thought her was, never the father that I made him seem. The longer I was around Paul, the more I saw that. Paul, for not being a parent at all, was a great father to his sister. _"Just go away, okay Dad?"_

_"I'm sorry, sweetheart. But I can't do that." _I frowned at him. _"I had my friend come and find you Penn. And I'm glad that I did. He told me how dangerous Paul is for you. I'm you father. I have to protect you." _My father was _friends_ with a vampire? That didn't seem right. _"So now, you're going to have to come with us. Your mother and I have to protect you."_

The leech that had been in our box stepped forward, his arms wrapping around my waist in a flash. I opened my mouth to scream, sure that Paul or someone else would hear. But the ice cold hand clamped down over my mouth. I watched Dad nod from the corner of my eye. No amount of fighting could get me free. Did someone hate me?


	65. Chapter LXIV

**Author's Note: I apologize for the horrendous cliff hanger. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXIV:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

It seemed to take forever to go to the bathroom. There were men who had taken it upon themselves to make sure their women were happy. And after sitting through the play for a few hours, all of us were ready to burst. The good news was that once you were through the outer portion of the line, everything picked up speed pretty well. I washed my hands and rushed back outside to my girl...

Who was no where to be found.

I frowned. She normally sat in wait at the nearest column or pole so that people were forced to go around her and she could be easily found. Or not so easily today. There were so many scents, so many smells that were coming from the surrounding area. I was lucky enough to find hers, but I would assume that it had more to do with the imprint bond than it did with my nose. The problem was that her wonderful smell quickly mingled with the popcorn and the other people and spilled sodas and the rankness of the bathroom and... Leech. And leech.

I thought that I'd made it completely clear that he wasn't to come near my girl. I should have just lost my temper. I should have just let myself snap and kill the monster before he could have caused more pain to my imprint. Lotte's sweetness mingled with the stench. What I wouldn't give to drop my nose to the ground and follow the trail. Instead, I was having to wait patiently for the people around me to clear away so that I could find her.

The rail disappeared suddenly, oil and gasoline coming to mix with them. They'd taken off in a car? Who the fuck had taken her? Where had she gone? "Excuse me," I demanded. "Did you see what car was parked here?" I asked the first guy I saw. Pulling him away from his heated make out session with his girlfriend.

"Dude, does it _look_ like I was paying attention to the cars around me?" he laughed. He pulled his girl back to him, cupping her ass in his hands. The next few couples that I'd asked had the same answers or said that the spot had been empty when they'd seen it. The worst was when another car pulled up in the spot. I couldn't even ask anyone anymore. I tried to follow the smell but it quickly blended in with all the other cars that were on the road. There was no way to track her down now. I had nothing.

I dialed Jake in a frenzy, hoping by the grace of God he would be able to think of something. _"Paul, I sent the guys. They're already there."_

"Do you know if they've had any luck?" I interrupted.

_"I don't know; I haven't talk to anyone. Why?"_

"I can't find Charlotte. We split to go to the bathroom after the show. I smelled parasite around her scent, but they go in a car."

_"Did you follow the car?"_

"Until it got downtown. I lost it then."

_"Shit,"_ Jake hissed. I nodded my agreement. _"I'll talk to the guys. We'll start looking. I don't know where someone would have taken her. Any idea who is after her?"_

"I don't have a fucking clue," I snarled. "I can't imagine anyone hating Charlotte, Jake? Could you?"

_"She's like my sister, Paul. That's the point of the Pack. Is there any reason why she would get kidnapped?"_

"Jake, should I call Charlie Swan?"

_"You're in hot water as it is with the debacle with Catherine. Charlie Swan barely likes you on a good day and now you've created paperwork for him. Trust me, I hear all about it from Ryanne every day." _I wasn't going to apologize if that's what he wanted. _"I would have done the same thing so calm yourself."_ Jake was more attuned to the Pack than Sam had ever been. He knew everything that we were feeling, all the anger that we kept inside. _"We'll start running around here, running between La Push and Port Angeles. Just start heading home, okay?"_

"Yeah; I got it boss."

I thought that perhaps the run would ease the tension that was gnawing at my stomach. But with each lope, I was growing more and more restless. I couldn't smell her. I didn't even have the pleasure of knowing that she would be waiting for me at home. I had no idea where she was or even if she was okay. I sprinted, pushing myself harder and farther and trying to think of all the people that would want her. And then I came to a screeching, startling halt.

Her mother.

Her father.

They hadn't been at all happy when she'd decided to move out, to move in with me. If they found out where we were, which wouldn't be hard with all her father's connections, I wouldn't put it above them to take her. They had always said they wanted their daughter back. But that didn't explain why the smell of leech permeated the air around her own scent. It didn't explain why there was no sign of her. I phased out and sprinted into my house. Emily had said they were going to spend time at the house instead of hers. Ariana needed to be home. "Hey Paul," Ari said as I burst in. "I thought you guys weren't coming home until late tonight." How was I supposed to tell her that I couldn't find the mother in her life? That once again, she was faced with losing someone. "Where's Charlie?"

"That's a good fucking question," I whispered, stomping to our bedroom. Charlotte kept a box of her memories in the closet, things that reminded her of the happier times of her childhood. If it was her parents that had taken her, then there _had_ to be a clue in that damned box. "Or their house." I could start either way but since I was already in the bedroom...

I didn't bother to take everything out in the neat little piles that she kept it all in. I dumped it upside down on the floor and sank to the ground, running my fingers through it and digging for anything. "Just a little fucking clue, that's all I need," I was begging some unseen force. I just needed to be with her. I needed to find her. I couldn't do it if I didn't have her. I couldn't keep going.

"Paul, where's Charlie?" Ari's quiet voice startled me. She was standing in the door way looking exactly like a warrior. Her eyes were dark. Her stance was wide as she braced herself. I tried to pull my thoughts away from my imprint, but it served me little good. "Don't you lie to me, Paul LaHote." I was startle at how much she sounded like Charlotte. Or I guess what Charlotte's signs were like. I wasn't the only one who needed my girl. Ariana needed Lotte just as much as I did.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I lost her and I can't find her."

"She's not a watch, Paul. You don't just _lose_ her," Ariana countered. Damn the kid had balls.

"I don't know where she went, Ari. But I promise you that I will do everything that I can to find her. Okay? We're not going to lose her," I swore to her. I saw a tiny crack in Ariana's bravery then. She looked like she wanted to sit down and just weep but it was only a moment. "Come here, sissy," I whispered. She took a few steps forward, just within reach of my hand. I grabbed her little wrist and pulled her down. "I think that someone took her," I admitted. "But I don't know who and I don't know where."

"Paul," Ari whimpered.

"I swear on my life, Ari, I'm going to get her. I'm going to figure out who took her and where they took her and I'm not going to come home until I find her," I vowed.

"So I'm staying with Emily and Sam?" She sounded so resigned, so upset.

"I can - -" I wanted to tell her that I could come home at night and be with her, but I couldn't promise her that. I wanted to comfort my sister but God damn it if I didn't need to find my imprint. I wouldn't be able to rest until I knew where she was. "I can try to -"

"We both know you're not coming home until you find her, Paulie. You said it yourself," she whispered. "Finding Charlie is more important than coming home to me anyways."

"It's not like that, Ari," I tried.

"I didn't mean it the way that it came out. I just meant that I understand. And that I wouldn't expect anything less from you," she whispered. "Besides, I can't really have my whole family together again until I have her back here."

She was right. We were a family. I needed my _family_ here with me. And that included the girl that had taken my heart.

So God bless the fuck who had her. Because he'd be meeting Him soon enough.


	66. Chapter LXV

**Author's Note: No excuses, just the sincerest apologies. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter LXV**

I couldn't tell you where I was. It had taken us three days to get there. I spent the entire drive with one of those microsuede night masks over my eyes. I had tried to keep track of our turns but once I'd fallen asleep, I couldn't do that anymore. Now I was sitting in the attic of a house, the heat causing sweat to roll down my back. I knew in just a minute or two, my father would walk up here and tell me that it was time for my lesson with my mother. They had been trying to get me to come down there every day for the last week. But I wasn't doing to do anything willingly.

A could breath of air on my neck told me that he was here in the next moment. My father didn't know what this monster was. And all he knew about Paul was the history of drug dealing. He didn't know anything about the real truth and he sure as shit, Paul's phrase not mine, didn't know about vampires or wolves. Arms dropped over my shoulders so that I could see the hands attached. _"You're mother is expecting you."_ He paused in his signs hen. But I only gave him the same response that I had for the past two weeks. Using everything that Paul had taught me, I welled up some spit in my mouth and turned. With a mighty blow, I spat in his face. _"Do you ave to be so stubborn?"_ He ran his hand over his face before he reached around and grabbed my chin. _"Your parents aren't going to take much more of this."_

_"I'm not going to be here much longer."_ Paul was going to come and get me some time soon. He wouldn't let me suffer in this place anymore. Although it hadn't really been suffering. My parents took good care of me. They brought me my meals and made sure that I had books to read. But this wasn't my home and they were the last people that I wanted to be around. I wanted to be home with my _real_ family. I wanted to be with Paul and Ariana and Emily and Ryanne and Jake and Leah and Seth and all my friends. I didn't want the reclusive life that they offered me. I wanted _my_ life.

Frozen air puffed against me in a heavy sigh. _"Your father was so hoping that it wouldn't come to this." _I didn't care about what he was saying. I just turned my attention from his hands to the rest of the room. At least, I did until I felt my head being yanked by the roots of my hair. I yelped at the sudden pain and jumped up from my chair. He kept yanking and yanking until I was down the stairs, stumbling backwards into his chest. He pinned me against him easily and kept walking back until we were outside. Roughly, he shoved me against a hard wall that scraped against my skin. I opened my eyes then, glaring at him. _"Your mother and I have very similar disciplinary styles." _He wouldn't dare...hit me? Would he? _"Although, for my part, I've never actually raised a child. But my parents have always taught me that people respect fear. Of course, that was centuries ago. When fear was all that really mattered in the world." _I froze against what I now realized was a tree, holding myself still. _"You keep acting like a petulant child. It's very frustrating to be around."_ I swallowed hard when he took a step closer. He stooped and picked something up from the ground. _"Your father seems to think that we can love you, coddle you, out of this little **phase** you're in." _Fat chance of that happening._  
_

In the next instant, he was in front of me, grasping my wrists and shoving and tugging and pushing. When he moved back a little, I looked down at my hands. It was like a medieval shackle set, keeping my arms a little more than a shoulder's width apart. Something hard and heavy hit me from behind. I jumped forward, but couldn't really get anywhere. _"I was involved with the Spanish Inquisition, you know?"_ I couldn't sign back. Suddenly, I felt my hands being hauled over my head of their own accord. The thick chain that linked in the center of the shackles had been pulled over a tree branch. Now he stood in front of me. With barely a flick of my wrists, he had my arms up over my head, my shoulders feeling like they were going to pop right out of their sockets. _"I don't know what people **think** happened, but it was basically a lot of torture." _His eyes lit up at the last word like he sought some kind of reaction from me. _"Your father's approach might work."_ He stopped signing long enough to reach into his pocket for a stake. He tossed in to the ground, landing right in the center of a metal link. _"But it's just going to take too much time." _What was his approach? What was this monster planning to do to me? _"Can your little pup feel your pain?" _This was some kind of vendetta against the wolves? Why? I had never seen him before. Other than the night that he'd come into the theater box, of course. _"That will be an interesting experiment to conduct when he gets here."__  
_

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "Why do you hate me?"

_"I don't hate you, dear one. Your wolves have caused me so much trouble though. You see, one of the other mates would have made a tasty little morsel. But she called for her wolf. If it had just been the loss of my food, I suppose I would have survived. The mongrel got me banned from my clan. I can't go home any more. And your precious wolves are the only things to blame for it. I've tried to get my hands on the other one, but they've got her locked up pretty tight. But, as fate would have it, you're just a delicious smelling and more open."_ He pulled lightly on the chain, sending it to bouncing and causing my hands to shake with the force of the tremors. _"I suppose you're still wondering what we're going to do to you."_ I wanted to nod... Or spit at him again. But I forced myself to remain silent and still, doing nothing more than glaring at him. _"Your mother gave me free reign on how to best... get through to you. I've found people easiest to negotiate with when they're at their weakest. So, consider yourself stripped. You have two basic rights: food and water. You'll receive each of them periodically throughout the day. Until you learn how to cooperate, that is. Once you've realized that your parents do, in fact, know what's best for you, you can have all your little luxuries. Or,"_ he paused, as if a thought had just occurred to him. _"You could go back inside and stop hassling your parents." _

"Never." I pulled my best Paul sneer into place, hoping that thinking of him would give me the strength that I would need to get through this. I was going to get through this.

_"Suit yourself."_ He walked away then. Once I was sure that he was in the house, I did my best to thrash and pull and get free. The stake couldn't be in _that_ deep. I should be able to get it out. Once it was out of the ground, I would be able to start running. I'm sure the leech would hear me. I'm sure he would get me again and keep me from going home. But at least I could prove to him that I wasn't going down without the biggest fight that he'd ever seen from a human. It was no use. I pulled, wriggled. I even lifted my feet from the ground, resting all my weight on my shoulders. I pulled my body up like I was doing a pull-up and let myself drop, but all I succeeded in doing was causing pain to ricochet down my arms and spine. I wasn't getting out of here. Nothing was getting me out of here.

Nothing but Paul. He loved me. He wouldn't let me suffer like this. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what had happened to him. But I was sure of a few other thing. Paul LaHote was the most stubborn man that I had ever met. He valued family and friends more than anything else in the world. I looked up at the leaves of the tree above me. Oak trees. One of the texts that I'd ready ages ago had a chapter about oak trees. And California. I was in California? I looked beyond the leaves to the blue sky that was peeking out at me. _Please come and find me, Paul. Please don't let them kill me. Please._


	67. Chapter LXVI

**Author's Note: Okay, y'all! Please let me know what you guys think of everything. I know that I've been terrible about updating lately. Please don't be upset with me. I'm working on it! Love and thanks, hope y'all enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXVI**

Paul didn't show up when the sun was going down. But then again, neither did my mother or father. Just after the sun had gone down below the hills, the vampire came out with a plate of steak. _"It's interesting that you spoke earlier. Your father said that you never took speech therapy."_ My father had no idea that I had learned to speak. Since they had kidnapped me, or since I "came home"as they put it, I hadn't signed a word to them. And they could fucking forget about me speaking to them. _"Your parents didn't think that you were vegetarian." _What would they know about me anyways? He held up a piece of steak for me. "Are you hungry?"

There was a part of my brain, a part that had been spending too much time with Paul I suppose, that said to refuse the food. It smelled delicious and I'm sure that it tasted good. But I was adamant that I didn't want to be a part of this. I didn't want anything that this monster was offering me. The more logical side of my brain said that he would hurt me if I didn't comply. So I nodded and opened my mouth, allowing him to put it in for me to chew. The problem was that I was definitely spending too much time with Paul.

I chewed a few times and spat it out. It didn't land on his face as I had hoped but I still had the satisfaction of watching him skitter back a little in disgust. "Did you not like the steak?" I glared at him, trying to warn him with my eyes that it wasn't going to matter what he did. The reaction was going to be the same. "I have some chicken if you'd rather." He held up his plate for me to observe. I didn't care. I kept my gaze steady with his. "Well, I was rather hoping that you would have a better attitude about all of this."

About them kidnapping me? I was supposed to have a _better_ attitude about my parents working with a vampire to keep my away from my boyfriend? It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him exactly _how_ he thought that I could be in better spirits, but held my mouth shut instead. "I suppose I'll just have to leave you here for the night." There wasn't another word said, but he sat himself out by the front porch, watching me.

If he was waiting for me to break, it wasn't going to happen. I wouldn't let it. I couldn't. Paul was going to come and get me and the last thing that he should come to find was a broken person. I hung limply by the shackles and felt my wrists being chaffed and rubbed almost raw in the few hours that I had been stuck outside. The leech was still watching me, waiting for me to tell him that he was right. Like I would ever give him the satisfaction. The sun sank low beneath the hills and trees.

I decided that we must be in some kind of a valley. The temperatures during the day had been ho, but nothing that I didn't think I could handle for another day or two. What I hadn't been prepared for was the cold of the night. There was no wind, only a fog that settled over everything around me. I shivered, sending ricochets up the chain that probably made some kind of rattling noise. That's what I had always read about, at least.

I must have been more stubborn than the blood sucker thought I was going to be. He sighed deeply and shoved up fro his spot. "Do you have to be so deucedly determined? Would it no make your life easier to just go along with what they're saying?" I leveled my gaze with his, still ot showing any emotions. It was one of the things that I'd learned how to do when I was younger. I didn't show anything on my face. It became more difficult when Paul and I became involved. He could smell any emotion that I had, including fear. And right now, I probably reeked of it. "Your parents care about you, Charlotte. They're just trying to do what's best for you." They could hardly be considered parents if you asked me. "Come now; you're tying the patience of a vampire. That's both very difficult and very dangerous, miss." Was that supposed to make me change my mind?

A movement from the front of the house caught my attention. I tore my gaze away from the man's red eyes to look at my mother and father. Dad was barreling down the stairs, my mother latched onto his arm as if she was trying to keep him in the house. _"What do you think you're doing?"_ I thought for a moment that the words were directed at me. But as he sprinted closer, I realized that his mouth was moving at the same time. _"What the devil is my daughter doing strung up like a pig?" _

"Henry, I told you; don't question the man's tactics." I almost started crying as my mother's words registered in my brain. She thought that this was okay? She thought that this _thing_ in front of me should be allowed to torture me?

_"His tactics? He's killing our daughter and you expect me to just let him?"_ I don't think there was a time in my life that I had ever seen my father so angry at my mother. _"Bring her down from there this instant."_ I wished that all it would take as a simple worded command to make a supernatural, immortal bottom feeder listen to him. It was the first time in my life that I actually felt like my father cared about me as more than just his connection to his wife. _"Did you hear me? I said take her down."_

"And do what, old man? If she comes down from this, she's only going to continue her anger towards the two of you. She needs to understand that all the luxuries you have given her are just that: luxuries. She's not entitled to have all of those things." My mother nodded along with the vampire and my father looked between the two of them in outrage.

"Sweetheart, he's been doing this for years. He's done this to other children before. It's like a scared straight kind of thing." I couldn't believe that my mother was going to defend this man. I couldn't believe that she thought this was acceptable.

_"This is beyond scared straight, Maria. How long has she been like this?"_ No one supplied him with an answer. I was just surprised that he kept his hands signing at the same time. _"Since when? Since she decided that she didn't want to be the perfect little princess this morning?"_

"Henry, you're overreacting."

_"No; I'm _**_reacting_**_ for the first time in over eighteen years. I wanted you to stay so desperately, I was willing to do anything for you. I ruined our daughter. Ruined her! I made her think that she was something less than perfect. Deaf or not, Charlotte, you are perfect."_ I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as he turned his gaze to me. _"It was wrong of me not to stop this before. I wanted you to have the normal family that you were supposed to have. But I knew that it was wrong. It's why I spent so much time away. If I wasn't there, I didn't have to put you down. I should have stopped this ages ago. And I will forever be grateful that Paul LaHote came around and showed you who you really are."_ My tears spilled over then.

"Henry! Surely you don't mean any of that! You wanted her to run away with that hooligan? Look at what she's become. It's a miracle she isn't pregnant now!" I blushed a little, but couldn't tear my gaze from the sights in front of me.

_"Let my daughter go. This has gone on long enough."_

"If you do this, you are only enabling her spoiled behavior." The red-eyed devil in front of me looked directly at me when he spoke next. "The man that she is with - - I know his kind. Mutts, mongrels the whole lot of them." I growled from deep within my chest.

Dad stepped up to his chest and poked him roughly in the sternum. _"Call that boy whatever you would like."_ My admiration for my father fell a little. He'd spoken so kindly of Paul only moments ago. _"But he had the good sense to take my Charlotte away from the rest of us. He was smarter than me to say the very least. Now, you will take my daughter down from that tree this instant. Do you hear me? Take my daughter down." _Then the monster in front of me grabbed my father's head in his hands...

And snapped his neck.


	68. Chapter LXVII

**Author's Note: Here we go! Answer to all your guys' questions. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter LXVII**

My mother's hand slapped over her mouth, probably to muffle her scream. Tears sprang to her eyes, a few of them rolling down her cheeks. Dad's body swayed in front of me for a brief second and then he fell to the ground, his eyes forever frozen in an expression that was a cross between startled and outraged. Mom ran forward and dropped to her knees next to my father. I could see her mouth moving, opening wide in a scream. The only word I understood out of everything was my father's name. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and propped his limp body up against her. She shook him, trying to revive him.

And while she was doing all of that, I was thrashing against my restraints. My heart sobbed and begged him to come back for me. We had made more progress in that last five minutes than we had in fifteen years of living together. _"You're going to make your wrists bleed if you keep that up."_ I spat at the red eyed man, my lower lip trembling as I swung back in forth. _"The metal has a nasty habit of cutting into the skin." _I know that I cried out. I know that I made a sound. I just hoped that it was nearly as heart broken as I felt. I felt the warm blood trickling down my forearms as I continued fighting. But what I was more focused on were the tears that were streaming down my face in endless torrents.

The vampire took a step closer to my mother. She jumped away from him, attempting to pull my father's body with her. _"You know the unfortunate thing about your treatment of your daughter? You can't sign and she can't speak." _He wasn't completely right and he knew it. I was very adept to speaking after all my practice with Paul. He closed his mouth tightly and smirked at me. _"And if you thinking speaking to your mother is a good idea, I'll kill her faster than you can form the words."_ A few hours ago, I wouldn't have believed him. But my father's body cradled in my mother's embrace said that he definitely would. _"Besides, we have more fun to get to."_ He began speaking at the same time again. _"I'm sure your mother has somethings that she wants you to do."_

Mom's head snapped up. "No." I stopped my thrashing to stare at my mother's mouth. She couldn't possible think that defying this man was a good idea. "No; my husband was right. You can't torture my daughter like this."

_"Your husband was a weak livered man who couldn't stand to see his precious daughter disciplined."_

"You're a monster." He smiled and threw his head back in laughter.

_"You have no idea."_ If only my mother knew what he was and what he was capable of. If she only knew that he would continue to do this to children for ages and ages to come.

"Let my daughter down, you bastard."

_"You're not in control anymore, ma'am."_ Her chin jerked upward. Mom had always hated being called ma'am. She'd always said that it made her feel old. _"And if you and your daughter want to make it through my little experiment, then I would suggest that you let me work my process through." _

"What experiment?"

_"I've heard rumors from some of my friends that the kids this day and age aren't quite as tough as they have been. And who better to test this theory out on than the mate of a mongrel."_ What he'd been doing to me before my father died was nothing compared to what he intended to do. It was my toughness that he wanted to exam. I jutted my chin out, the motion mimicking my mother's. I wasn't going to disappoint Paul with this. He could do whatever he wanted to do to me. I wasn't going to be anything short of stoic. _"I like that fiery look there, sweetheart. The ones that have that spirit are the ones that are the most fun to break."_ Try me, sir, I dared him in my head. He could do whatever he wanted to do. He wouldn't break me. I would be strong for Paul.

_"I should probably dispose of that body." _He nodded to my father's corpse like it was little more than a tree branch that had fallen in the center of a road.

"Don't you dare!" Her statement didn't appear outraged at all. But the shock that was written over her face said that she couldn't believe this man would ever think it was acceptable to take her husband's body from her. "That is my husband. He deserves to be buried with dignity and honor. 'Dispose of that body'! How dare you!"

_"What are you going to tell people, Mrs. Rivers? Will you say that you hired a man to help kidnap your daughter and in turn, he killed your husband? Because I suppose that makes you sound like the innocent victim, right?" _My mother opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. _"You should get into the house, Mrs. Rivers. If you want to live, of course." _

Mom looked like she was debating what to do. After a few long minutes of looking down at my father and murmuring things that I couldn't hear, she laid him down on the grass and closed his eyes. It was much easier that way. He looked like he was sleeping, like those nights when he would come home work late and fall asleep in his armchair. She pushed to her feet, wetness streaming down her face in torrents. She backed away about ten feet and then turned and sprinted back to the house. _"And you, Miss Rivers? How long do you think you'll be able to hold this out?"_

"Hold what out?" I asked in a quiet voice that I hoped held as much contempt as I felt for the man.

_"My experiment, Miss Rivers. How long do you think that you'll be able to survive my experiment?"_

"There is nothing that you can do to break me, you asshole."

_"For a girl who only learned how to speak recently, you certainly have a very extended vocabulary."_

"I'm deaf, not dumb you bastard. I know many things; I was just learning how to express them."

_"You're not shy; I like that."_ I didn't care what he liked. I just wanted it to end. _"Let's begin, shall we?"_

* * *

Five days later, I was hanging by my wrists wishing that there was water somewhere around me. It was part of his "experiment." I was only allotted two cups of water in the morning and one in the evening. It was barely enough to survive on. I wouldn't accept any of the food that he offered me, but I was more than receptive to the water. I was stubborn; not foolish. He wouldn't break my spirit. I wouldn't let him. But Paul still needed someone to actually _find_ when he got here.

The hot sun was beating down on my shoulder. I'd never thought that I could get sunburned. My skin was so dark and brown that it just didn't seem possible. But the valley heat was sweltering and the sun was burning every inch of me that it could touch. And since I refused to eat, he'd begun taking my "luxuries" from me. It had started with my shoes and then my socks. He moved to my pants and then my shirt. So now I was set out in the sun, strung up like meat out to dry in nothing more than my underwear and a bra. He ordered Mom to bring out my drink to me every morning. There was food brought along with it, but I refused to eat it and Mom stopped holding it up and pleading with me to take it.

We were coming up on two weeks. My stomach had never felt so empty in my entire life. For one of the first times, I was glad for the shackles. Without them and the chain, I would be a crumpled mess on the floor. My prayers never stopped. I wanted Paul to come. He needed to come and save me. I was trying to be patient, but it was so difficult with the heat and the pain. My back had been flayed out like meat from the leather that he'd struck across my back. I wasn't too proud to cry out. I wasn't too stubborn to admit that it hurt. But at the end of the day when he'd ask me if I was ready to give up and go inside, I would find another way to tell him no. The first time, I spat at his face. The next time, I'd saved up some of my precious water and squirted it like a fountain into his face.

But now, on the fifth day, I was hanging like fish in the metal prison. My vision was blurred and when I could get it clear enough, I could only see part of the surrounding terrain. Black dots sparkled in my vision. Every hour that passed by brought a few more spots. I couldn't make them disappear. And I sure as hell couldn't let them take me. The vampire decided to take pity on me. He didn't come back that night for me, but his lack of appearance meant that he didn't bring out any water. I shivered in the night air after the sun was swallowed by the surrounding mountains. Any other time, I think that this would be the greatest spot to take a vacation.

Maybe one day... On my honeymoon... With Paul...

One day...

Roughness grasped my face and shoulder, jarring me out of my daze, pulling me from the darkness. I opened my eyes, knowing that it would be my mother or the vampire. But the hold wasn't frigid and it certainly wasn't my mother's delicate grasp.

It was - - calloused and warm.


	69. Chapter LXVIII

**Author's Note: I don't have much to say. I offer my sincerest apologies for the last few days. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXVIII: ****_Paul's Point of View_**

Every lead that I thought I had was disappearing. I couldn't seem to find her. For one week now, I had been hunting. I'd spoken to everyone that her father knew, but all they seemed to know was that he on vacation. And what was worse than the fact that I couldn't find her was the fact that I knew the imprint would start effecting both of us soon. I could feel it some days. I would get dizzy or start coughing suddenly. If it was getting to me, it would be worse for her.

"Seven fucking days," I screamed at Ryanne and Jake. They had been watching Ariana with the help of Emily for the last few days. "She's been gone for seven days. I don't know where she is!"

"Shouting at us isn't helping," Jake said quietly. I growled at him. He'd never had his imprint taken from him like this. "You know, except for the time that she went to Italy for three days."

"I didn't mean to say that out loud," I apologized.

"Jake, go and do something," Ryanne said suddenly. "Let me talk to the boy before you guys start a world war in my house." She wrapped a hand around Jake's arm and I felt like sinking down in a hole. I wanted _my_ girl. I wanted _her_ to tell me to calm down. I wanted _her_ to make me think about things instead of just screaming at everyone. I just wanted _her._ "You're not thinking about this the right way," she said when Jake was gone.

"He can still hear you, you know."

"Don't care," she snipped. "You're trying to find out where her parents took her, but you should be looking at the vampire."

"What parasite?"

"The one that that you smelled. What'd he look like?" I looked at her like she'd grown another head and did as she asked. "Jonas. That's the vampire who attacked me."

"You know him!"I screeched. Why hadn't I just sat down and listened to her like she asked me all those days ago? She kept asking and asking and asking and I didn't give her the time of day. But this whole time, she could have been the key to finding my imprint.

"More importantly," she continued, "the Cullen's know him. And their cousins in Denali really know him. He used to be a part of their clan. If you can't figure out where her parents took her, maybe it's his place." Her words made perfect sense. I rushed forward and kissed her cheek.

"You're a genius!" I said, turning and sprinting out the door. If I ran quick, I could make it to Alaska in a few days. Maybe he had her down there. That would be the best case scenario. "Love you, Rye." I phased the second that I hit the tree line, not caring about my clothes. I could stop by the Cullen place and make sure they warned their family that I was coming. Whether they did or not, I was going. But I would probably receive a better welcome if they were warned before I arrived.

Which was exactly what I received. Carlisle accompanied me up to Alaska. The run only took us two and a half days. I knew I was going to need to sleep soon. I could feel myself losing control, becoming more wolf-like than human. But I needed my mate and she was gone. I wasn't going to stop until I could have her. "Jonas has been gone from us for years," one of the blonde ones said. I just nodded my wolf head. "But when he left us, he told us about a property that he owned in the hills surrounding the Silicon Valley."

Carlisle turned to me. "California," he explained.

"I don't know of any other properties that he owned. He loved that place, though. He said that it was far enough away that his prey would just wander by," she continued. Except that his newest prey was my imprint. "That would be the first place to try. If he's not there, just call us. I'll dig through the things that he's left here and see if I can find anything else."

"Thank you, Kate," Carlisle said. "We appreciate it."

California. How long would it take me to get to California? Ages. Time that I didn't have. I needed to get to her. I turned and left Carlisle where he was standing, asking in my head where the Silicon Valley was. California wasn't exactly a precise location. I had to find her, though. If I had to search every square mile of the state, I would find her. "If you follow me, I've got an exact location on him," Carlisle said as he started sprinting up beside me. I nodded and slowed so that he could be in front of me.

I was only thankful that the monster was able to run as quickly as he could. But after five straight days of running, I could hardly hold myself upright. "Perhaps a nap?" the leech suggested. I shook my head. "Paul, if Jonas has been feeding on humans, he'll be strong. You will be of no use to your mate if you can hardly hold your head up."

_He's right, Paul,_ Jake said in my head. _Get a few minutes of sleep. You'll recharge and then you can continue your race to get her." _

_She's been gone for so many days, Jake. What if she's dead?_

_You would feel it if she died. _As if summoned by some command, fire burned a slash in my back. I nipped at my fur, but there was nothing there._ It's her, Paul. You've felt it before. You're connected to her._

_She's being burned? She's being whipped! Jake I have to -_

_You have to rest. Don't make me Alpha Order it,_ he threatened. Jake had never actually used those orders on us since he'd become the leader. But the tone in his voice said that he would do it if he had to. _Just an hour, Paul. If she's really in danger, you won't be able to sleep through it. Get some rest. _I did as he asked, thinking of nothing but my imprint. She haunted my dreams, her straight hair, her heart shaped face, her kind spirit, her warm smile. It was ghostly. It was horrifying.

When I woke next, the darkness of the night was gone. Early morning rays of light filtered through the oak trees. I jumped upright. It hadn't been my intention to sleep for long. I just wanted to regain some of my strength. "Mr. LaHote?" I turned my attention to the voice, stuffing the smell of leech away. "I must return to my family. Any threat against Jonas," he trailed off, but I understood well enough. He couldn't afford a threat against his family. He needed to keep them safe like I wanted to keep mine safe. "If you head north, it's about another seven hours' run."

Seven hours. Seven hours and I would have my imprint in my arms. Seven hours and I wouldn't need to be working with some vampire. Seven hours and I could cut the head off of the monster that had her and watch with satisfaction as his body went up in flames.

We parted ways, each of us sprinting towards the people that held our hearts. Well, I guess they weren't really people. But for the moment I could overlook his family and appreciate the fact that the good doctor was able to get me to my imprint. For the moment, I didn't have to hate him. I could start doing that again tomorrow.

I stretched myself out, preparing myself for as much of a fight as I had during the newborn war. I found a nearby stream and took some water and then I was off. The light was different, the trees were weird. There were a million different smells to absorb out here in the middle of no where. I watched the sun's progress in the sky to keep track of my time running, not sure that I would really know when seven hours was up. ButI did.

Because what felt like ages later, I was smacked in the face with the smell of leech. And Charlotte. Her sweet scent filled my nostrils and promised her ahead. However, I was quickly met with the scent of blood. _Her_ blood. Someone had dared harm my imprint. Someone had dared to make her bleed. No; not someone. The vampire. He was going to die. Slow and painful. Every pain that he caused my imprint would be received by him tenfold. I would use every little torture trick I knew to tear him apart piece by piece.

I loped toward the dark structure that was looming ahead. I saw something dangling in the breeze, the long log swaying just a little. She was here. I could smell her. I stuck my nose to the ground and followed it. I ignored everything else that was going on around me and ran on instinct. My nose bumped against a tree, ending my little path. Was she buried underneath it? Was she dead? No; she smelled alive. She was here.

And then I saw her. It wasn't a log swaying in the wind. It was my girl. Her dark skin was red and puckered across her shoulders. Her back was flayed open, blood trickling down into the band of her underpants. I whimpered and crawled on my belly to my imprint. I yipped and snapped, even tried a real bark. But to no avail.

"Hello mongrel," the parasite greeted. I snarled for real this time and poised myself in front of her to keep him from touching her. "Were you -"

I saw only red as I lunged at him.


	70. Chapter LXIX

**Author's Note: Okay, here you guys go! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXIX:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

The part of my brain that was still remembering what a terrible thing this monster had done was smothered by the part of my brain that wanted revenge. I snarled around his neck and tossed him into a tree. "The puppy doesn't like having his toy taken from him?" he taunted. I tried to go slow, to make it painful, but all I could do was leap again and catch his arm in my mouth. I shook him hard and waited for satisfying snap of his arm. He flew away from me, freeing me to spit the limb out and watch him scream in pain.

A lantern over by the porch caught my eyes. Kerosene. I sprinted over there and grabbed it in my mouth. His arm was crawling towards him. He was rushing towards me in a desperate attempt to kill me before I could kill him. But it wouldn't matter what he did to me. I was here to watch his body burn in flames. The glass of the lantern shattered on the ground and the liquid splattered all over. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding singing my fur coat off. The vampire, however, caught quickly. The fire ate at his body and turned him from stone to crumbs. His screams drowned out all other sound while I phased back.

"You never should have taken my girl," I said, watching him with satisfaction. "You messed with the wrong wolf." I waited only long enough to be sure that he wasn't going to be able to get the flames out before I turned around and pulled on my jeans. Charlotte had yet to open her eyes. Her eyes were still closed, her mouth still hanging open. "Charlotte," I said. "Lotte, it's time to wake up. Come on, baby," I commanded her. I don't know what was wrong with my brain, but once I grabbed hold of her shoulders, I realized I was shouting at a deaf girl.

I gripped her shoulders tightly in my hands and looked at her. "Charlotte, please wake up." I wasn't begging her anymore. I was saying it just so that there was some kind of noise around me. I slid a hand from her shoulder, up the smooth column of her neck, and to her cheek. "Please Lotte, please." She din't move. I shook her hard, her head lolling against her shoulders.

"She's probably dead," a broken voice whispered behind me. "I killed her." I turned to find her mother with tears streaming down her face. "I killed her father and now I've killed her." She looked so petrified, so distraught. "I just wanted my perfect family. I just wanted them to be what I had always dreamed of." Instead of being content with what she had. "I'm so sorry."

"She's not dead," I promised. "Go in the house and find the keys to that car. I'll get her down."

"He wouldn't tell me where they were. He was afraid that I would let her go. And I would have."

"I'll get her out," I repeated. "Just go and find your guys' stuff." She nodded, determination gleaming in her eyes and walked away. I grabbed hold of my imprint, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her to my chest. "I'm never letting you go again, Lotte." I reached up and snapped the metal between her hands. Her arms fell to her sides like they were made of lead. I laid her down in the grass so that I could break the shackles. She hissed in pain as the dry grass made contact with her shredded back. I fought the urge to pull her back to my chest. "Just one second, sweetie." I snapped the shackles and freed her wrists.

They were bloody and raw, clearly too tight. She hadn't had them off in ages from the looks of it. God only knows how long she had been stuck there. I pulled her back against me. "I found the keys," her mother announced. I pulled Charlotte up so that I could carry her. "Where are we going?"

"We're driving back home." Well, I wasn't driving anywhere. "Well, you're driving home. I'm staying in the backseat with Charlotte." I wasn't going to let her go again. "We'll drive away from here a little ways and stop to rest. See if we can get Lotte to eat something."

"Why do you call her Lotte?" she asked me. I crawled into the backseat and laid my imprint across my lap. The older woman slammed the door shut and started the engine. She was speeding down the main road and through town before I had a chance to even get a seatbelt on. Not that it really mattered. In the safety of my arms, Charlotte would never be hurt.

"I used to call her Charlotte, but she hated it. She said that you would call her that and she didn't like it. But I couldn't call her Charlie like everyone else does. She's not like everyone else to me." I looked down at her. Sweat slicked strands of hair framed her face. Her lips were dried and cracked. She looked...sunburnt. Her smooth, brown skin was slowly turning to leather. "She's stronger than you think, you know," I said, my knuckles brushing against her cheekbone. "She's not going to let this one beat her." If she wanted to die, she would have given up when he started. The fact that her heart was beating as strongly as it was was testament to that. "From what you were saying, you made it sound like you thought that she would give up. She's never going to give up. It's not like her."

There was silence for the next little while as we drove through this California town. "You can pull over wherever you find a place to sleep. Do you have any money?" I asked her. She nodded slightly. "Just one room; two beds," I said when she pulled off the highway fifteen minutes later. I glared at her in the rearview mirror, daring her to tell me that I couldn't sleep in her room. I was kind of shocked when she nodded again and got out of the car. "Come on, Lotte. I need you to wake up for me." I wrapped my hand around her hair, surprised to find that there was even more sweat sticking to her. Gently, but with enough force that she would feel, I smacked her cheeks a little.

Her black lashes fluttered a little, roses bloomed on her cheeks, waves of heat rolling off of her. "Come on, little Lotte." Her mother would be back any moment. All I needed was the confirmation that she was going to make it through this. Just a little sign. "Please come back to me." I know that each of the guys had gone through their own pains with their imprints, but this was the worst that I had ever felt. I couldn't do life without her. I just couldn't.

Her skin was all flushed and I could feel the warmth radiating off her. She pried her eyes open though and stared up at me. "P-p-p." She was trying to say my name, but I doubted if she could get enough moisture in her throat to do it. I crushed her to me, feeling like crying for one of the first times in my life. "Y-y-y-you -"

"Sh, Lotte. It's okay now." She fought to keep her eyes open, ever movement seemed to cause her pain. "I'm going to move you, okay? I'm going to take you to bed." A throat cleared behind me. I lifted my eyebrows at the woman standing behind me. "Is the room ready?" She nodded and flipped around on her heel, marching with cautious determination to the room we'd purchased. There were two beds, just like I asked. "I'll take care of her and then you can bathe," I said. I knew that I should probably do the same. I couldn't remember the last time I had walked on two legs for so long. I probably smelled like shit. I just didn't care. I wanted her to be okay. I wanted my imprint smile at me again.

Charlie still had nothing but her under clothes on. It made it easier to get her completely nude and into the bath. She cried out when I lowered her down to my chest. "Paul," she growled in a hoarse voice. "Save me," she croaked.

"You're okay, babe," I promised her. "You're okay." I grabbed the soap and created the suds in my hands. Taking caution of her back, I cleaned as much of her as I could, humming to keep her, and me, calm. I bathed us as quickly as possible and hoisted her out of the bathtub with me. She would whimper and cry out, but never opened her eyes. Not after I'd gotten her to do it once. "It's all yours," I muttered.

I'm sure that her mother was concerned about me and my closeness with her daughter, but I would have to take care of that later. I placed Lotte on the bed and climbed in beside her. Mindful of her back, I rolled her on her side and pilled her on my shoulder. _"Stay awake, don't fall asleep,"_ I began, trying to calm myself and give her comfort. If she felt me under her, maybe she would realize that the danger had passed.

"I'm glad that she found you." The voice scared me shitless. I jumped and Lotte cried out. I smoothed her damp hair, but she was already beginning to warm. "My husband was right; you are the right man for her."

"Where is he?" I asked. I hadn't seen him and while I was sure that she had said it before, I couldn't quite recall where the man had run off to.

"Dead."


	71. Chapter LXX

**Author's Note: I'm glad to see the reviews! Please feel free to review with any thoughts you all have; enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXX:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

"Paul!" My eyes flew open. Lotte was thrashing against me, trying to escape whatever was torturing her in her dreams. "Help me!" At least she'd finally learned how to yell instead of just whispering.

"What are you going to do?" her mother asked.

"I'm going to wake her up," I replied, still trying to figure out how. I had seen some of Nate's nightmares in her head. Waking Nate up was difficult, but the quicker I did it, the quicker Lotte would be released from her personal prison. I leaned down and kissed her, trying to keep her pinned down without hurting her. Her lips froze underneath me and then began to kiss me back. A moment of two later, her eyes opened and she was looking at me. Her eyes were glazed over, though. She wasn't seeing me here with her. "Does she have a fever?" I asked her mother.

She looked like she couldn't believe that I was asking her to check her daughters temperature, but I knew that I couldn't tell it if I had to touch her. But she pressed her hand to Lotte's forehead and immediately pulled away. "She's burning up," she said. In my head, I could heard Carlisle saying something about the stress of her body. Whatever had happened could have given her body too much stress to deal with. If that was the case, I was pretty sure that Carlisle had said something about a fever.

"Did you get enough rest?" I said, barely looking up to see if her mother was still in front of me. She nodded. "Pack up our stuff; we need to get back to La Push.'

"Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?" There was only one man I trusted to take care of my imprint. The irony was that he wasn't really a man. And he definitely wasn't my friend. But I couldn't leave her in a hospital where the only person allowed to see her was her mother. No; I could take better care of her. I just had to get her back home.

"There's a man in La Push that can take care of her at home. She won't want to be in a hospital. Trust me." I don't think that she wanted to admit that I knew Lotte better than she did. She accepted it though and began gathering out stuff. "Let's get some ice so that we can keep her cool." There was just another tight jerk of her chin. I gathered my girl to my chest, rocking us back and forth while I dug around for my cell phone. I hadn't paid much attention to what I had grabbed, but I knew I had some essentials. I dialed for the good Doc and waited impatiently.

_"Did you find her?"_ he asked immediately.

"It's just like you were saying. She's got a fever," I said, ignoring his question. "We're driving back to La Push. We drove about five hours yesterday, but we still have nine to go." I refrained from asking if Lotte could make the drive. She would. She had to. "What do I need to do?"

_"Do you know how warm she is?"_

"no."

_"As much as you're going to dislike hearing this, it would be for the best if you weren't holding her the entire drive."_ I snarled into the phone, rocking my imprint a little more. _"You won't be able to cool her with your body temperature being as warm as it is."_ I fought the urge to throw the phone against a wall. _"If you must hold her, which is what I suspect you will do," _he continued in his methodical voice, _"I would recommend soaking a sheet and keeping it wrapped around her with some cool cloths on her forehead. It's very old school, but it saved many a lives back then."_ I just had to keep her cool. I could do it. _"If you can keep her cool while you're trying to break the fever, then you should be able to make it." _I was nodding, trying to take in everything that I was hearing. _"A little modern medicine wouldn't hurt either. Some kind of fever reducer." _

"I can't get her to stay awake long enough to get her to swallow her," I said.

_"You can get dissolvable children's strips, but she will need about twice as much as the highest dosage." _I could get her some medication. Just knowing that there was something that I could do other than douse her in water made me feel better. _"Make sure that she takes in some kind of liquids. It would be best if she took in some water, but any juice or even soft drinks would work." _

"We'll be in La Push in ten hours time," I said. It was real quick afterwords. He gave me a few more instructions about how to take care of her, but it was just basic stuff about reading the instructions on the bottle before I gave her things and making sure that I kept track of her liquid intake. "Thank you, Doc." I stuffed the phone back in my pocket and turned my full attention back to my girl. Drips of sweat were coming off of her brow, but nothing was rolling down her.

"We're just about ready to go."

"Take the sheet off the bed and soak it in ice water in the bathtub," I said. "We're going to leave her naked and wrap her in that sheet to try and keep her temperature down. I need your help with this. I need you to help me get her ready." There was a steely determination in her mother's eyes. I chose to believe that it was seeds of real determination, that she was realizing that her daughter was too precious to treat as poorly as she had.

She pulled not only her sheet, but the one that I had slept with, and brought them with her. I heard the pipes moaning and groaning as she started to help her daughter. I laid Lotte on her stomach and took a closer look at the lashes that were slashed over her back. They weren't bleeding any longer, but they were puckered and red and angry. Nate. He'd been torn apart by whips before. He would know what to do. _"Paul, I really don't have time to talk to you,"_ Leah said. _"Nate's coming from the hospital." _

"I need to talk to him, Leah."

_"He just got out of the hospital, Paul."_

"Leah, please; I just found Lotte. She's been - - Leah, she's torn up like the scars on Nate's back. I don't know what to do. I'm calling you and asking for your help," I begged. "He's the only one that's going to know what to do. Please, Leah." There was a heaving puff of air on the other side of the phone, but she eventually conceded.

_"Paul?"_

"Nate, I wouldn't normally ask for help." From anyone. It had nothing to do with him. I would never ask for help period. "But Lotte's been cut up. They look like the scars that I saw one time when I was with Leah. The ones that are on your back. I don't know what to do. I need help. You have to help me."

_"She's going to scream,"_ he warned. _"But the best thing to do is to clean them off and get some vaseline or Neosporin. Slather it on there and close it up. If there so deep that they need stitches, pack them up with some kind of bandaging, and close them." _He was clearly used to healing out in the middle of no where, away from a hospital or civilization. But I could take his advice and make it a little more modern. _"It's going to hurt more than you know, Paul. Just be ready to hear her scream."_

It didn't matter how much Nate warned me. I drew the soft facecloth over her back and she stiffened immediately. Her mother came flying from the bathroom. "What are you doing to her?" she snarled at me. It took every ounce of my patience not to tell her that, unlike her, I wasn't planning on hurting Charlotte. Ever.

"I'm helping her. We need to get her wounds cleaned up and get her home," I said. I tried to think of a million other things when I set back to work cleaning her up. Once I had her cleaned up and all her wounds bound, I pulled her in my arms again. I wrapped the sheet around her and then placed her in the car.

We stopped off at a Walmart only long enough to get the things that Carlisle had suggested. Her mother drank a few energy drinks and was content to drive. It was almost difficult for us to focus on driving with Charlotte moaning in the backseat. I was only grateful that I didn't have to be the one to drive. I wouldn't be able to focus with her crying out at every bump.

Now I just had to hope that getting her home would work the magic that I was expecting it to.


	72. Chapter LXXI

**Author's Note: I have nothing to say. I am honestly appalled at how long it has taken me to get this chapter up. I'm so very sorry. I could sit here and tell you guys about how sick I've been and everything else that's happened, but I won't. It doesn't make a difference. Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy and accept my sincerest apologies. **

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**Chapter LXXI**

I felt like I was sitting in fire. I could feel the flames licking my spine, my organs, my muscles, everything. And then a different kind of warmth was added to it. This warmth was safe and secure, though. It wasn't threatening. It didn't want to send me down to hell to perish in the flames. It was protective and secure. Then it was gone. The warmth was gone and replaced with a cool iciness that felt like heaven. I could feel it melting around me, like I was some kind of grill and they had just thrown ice on it.

I wanted to let go of my pain and let the darkness claim me. But I needed Paul. I couldn't let go before I got to see him again. I needed more than just my dreams this time. Dreaming of his face hovering above me with care in his eyes had been great. There was a reality to the dream that made me long for him, but I wanted the real Paul. I couldn't give up until I had him.

So I fought the darkness that was surrounding me, despite the pain that was brought on by whatever earthquake I was living in. I moaned and cried out, hoping to give this bastard a reason to give me a break. He was a sadistic asshole. He usually left me alone whenever I started screaming. It made him feel better. But he wouldn't stop this time. The bumping and churning continued. I wasn't even offered water this time. There was something different about this pain. It wasn't nearly as intense as the pain that I'd felt when he'd actually been trying to torture me. Maybe he'd finally given up. I could only hope.

I allowed myself to sleep, to doze and rest, but never to drift off into the nothingness that promised release. I waited for the pain to come to an end, for the evil monster to decide that he was done with me. I almost couldn't take any more when it finally stopped. Everything stopped. There was no more jostling that caused my back to burn. There was only cool and soft that surrounded me. And just beyond that, I could feel that safe heat. I felt good again.

Callused roughness scraped comfortingly against my scalp as the bed began to vibrate. The soothing tremors of a song that I knew so well now, of something that only two other people on this planet knew. And only one of them would be humming it alongside me. Paul. He was here. He was real. I nestled myself deeper into the cool cushioning around me. I could let go now. Which was good because the darkness was coming in even closer, trying harder and harder to break down the wall that I'd built up. I didn't have the energy to rebuild.

It became evident as soon as I stopped fighting, that the black cloud only wanted to send me straight to the fire. I was burning, unlike anything that I had felt before. I thought, for a brief second, that the vampire might have turned me. But it must have been longer than three days. It felt like an eternity. I couldn't be changing. Paul wouldn't let it happen. I knew that boy better than I knew myself most days and I knew for a fact that he would never let me be changed into something that he hates. "Paul," I moaned. He had to save me. It was his job. He was my wolf. I was his imprint. He had to save me.

The shaking of my bed and my frame got even more prominent after I managed his name. He was here, sitting right by my side. I only had to wake up. But I was just so damn tired. For so long, I had been trying to stay up, to stay alive, to keep myself from falling into despair. For so long, I had been trying to make sure that Paul had someone to find. Now that he was here, he could protect me and I could rest for just a little while. I just needed a little more sleep and for the burning to stop and then I could wake up.

When I remembered being conscious the next time, the fire had stopped trying to eat me alive. I felt like I was swimming, but I didn't feel like I was going to be swallowed by Lucifer any longer. There was still Paul's heat present next to me. He was still here. God only knows how long I'd been gone for. I pried my eyes open, despite the fact that it felt like someone had shoved a quarter pound of sand into them. Blinking hard to try to get rid of the crustiness, I waited for my vision to clear.

Paul's brown eyes swam into view, concern and something that looked incredibly like tears were lingering there. "P-P-Paul," I tried. My throat felt like I'd been standing in the desert for the last two years. He crashed into me then. He did it gently, of course, but it was a sudden weight that came down on top of me. He buried his face in my hair. Something hot and wet hit my neck, but I didn't comment. I wanted to ask him if he was okay. I wanted to make sure that my mother was still alive. I wanted to have him tell me that I was sick and my father wasn't dead. But for the moment, I was more than content to let him hold me.

He pulled back, his hands framing my face and pressing my sweat slicked hair to my face. "You're awake." I nodded, letting his warm, woodsy breath fan out over my face. "Oh God, Lotte. You had me so worried." He'd found me. I kept saying that I knew that he would, but deep down in side I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to. I had doubts that I would ever get away from that monster. "I love you, Lotte. I love you so much." That was all it took for me to start bawling. I dug my head into his shoulder and cried desperately.

"Please hold me, Paul," I begged. It felt like I was trying to swallow fire, but I got the words out. Or, at least, I think I did. He must have figured it out, though, because I was cautiously being lifted into his arms. I felt his warm chest beneath my ear and his hot breath on my scalp. An ice cold cloth was pressed against my forehead, the chill heavenly. Couple the coolness with Paul and his quivering chest and I might just have died and been unaware. "I hurt," I admitted after a few wonderful minutes.

I was quickly being laid back down onto the bed, but Paul's lips lingered on my forehead. _"How are you feeling?"_ I wanted to lift my hands and tell him that I was happier now that I knew I was home, but my hands felt like they were freight trucks. _"Just nod or shake your head, babe. I know that you're tired." _I nodded, trying to convey my understanding. _"Are you feeling better?"_ I gave him another tired nod. _"I think your fever finally broke. That's a good sign."_ He looked to me like he was wanting to get another response. _"Are you tired, babe? I can let you sleep?"_ I shook my head with as much vigor as I could manage. I really wanted to stay with him. I wanted to stay awake for as long as I could. "_Do you have questions?" _I nodded again. He was only gone for an instant. He came back with a pen and notepad, like he did when we had only just started getting to know each other.

_Is my father really dead?_ The somber expression on his face spoke more than the words he signed. My father had truly died trying to save me. _And my mother? Is she okay? _He seemed a little surprised by that question but informed me that my mom was downstairs, sleeping on the pull out bed. She was waiting to talk to me.

After that, he pulled the yellow paper from my hands. "You should rest, babe. There will be time to ask anything you want once you're good and healed." He leaned down to kiss my forehead. The feathery caress left exhaustion in its wake. "I love you." Funny to think about how difficult it had been for him to say that once. But there would be time to think about that later. Sleep would win for now.


	73. Chapter LXXII

**Author's Note: Here's the night's chapter. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXII**

"Those things that you father said about me? Do you believe them?" my mother asked. It had been two weeks since my fever broke. Paul was the most obsessive person that I had ever met. Even little Ari wasn't allowed to stay with me for too long. He wanted to make sure that I was getting enough rest, that I wasn't over tired, that I didn't feel stressed. But my mother was a little different. She'd been trying to keep herself calm the last few weeks. Some days she succeeded... Most days she didn't. And today was no different.

I bit my lip and looked down at the bedspread. Paul's fingers tipped my chin up so that I had to look at him. "Tell her what you think, Lotte. Be honest." I looked over at my mother, but she didn't seem to know what had just been said. He must have said it too quiet for her. He looked over at my mother and lifted his hands in front of my face. _"What did he say?"_

"That we ruined her. He said that we made her believe that she wasn't perfect,"she said. I wanted to crumple to the ground, but Paul's arm was supporting me. It was almost too much. "He said that I forced him to do the things that he did because I wanted my own normal family. Is he right, Charlotte? Did I really hurt you as much as he said I did?" Paul just kept staring at me expectantly.

I removed my fingers from his and put them up in front of my face. There was something about _speaking_ to my mother than just felt strange. I didn't like it. So I decided that I was going to rely on Paul and let him interpret. _"I don't know what you want me to say."_ I stopped and Paul looked down at me. My mother looked at me like I had ripped her heart out of her chest. I almost stopped, remembering just how much she'd gone through in the last few weeks. Paul motioned for me to continue._ "You wanted to have me kidnapped because you didn't think I was a good enough daughter. You wanted to let me be tortured because you didn't think that I was a good enough listener. I don't know how you can expect me to believe anything different from what Dad said."_

A single tear trickled down her cheek. I knew that I was hurting her. I even told myself to stop. But Paul's steady presence at my side said that maybe she needed to hear all of this from me. _"You left because I was deaf. I was sure that no one would ever want me. And after everything that happened the first time that I tried to date, you didn't do anything that I expected. Most of the parents in the world would have said that there would be a man out there for me somewhere. But my mother couldn't even communicate with me. And then she told me that there was no one who could want me." _

Paul grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. I looked up at him, trying to see beyond the tears that were swimming in my eyes. "Things are difficult between you two." I nodded and looked at my mother for confirmation. She agreed as well. "I don't know much about your father. He and I definitely didn't see eye to eye." If he only knew the things that my father had said about him before that thing had snapped his neck. "But I know that he loved both of you. Mrs. Rivers, he must have loved her because he he tried for almost twenty years to give you the family that you wanted. And Lotte, if he didn't care about you, he wouldn't have let you go with me. No matter what he said, he recognized the fact hat you should have been with me."

I swallowed hard, the memory of my father all but singing Paul's praises playing on a loop in my head. _I will be forever grateful that Paul LaHote came around and showed you who you really are._ It was only seconds later that his life was ended. I actually watched the life drain out of his eyes in an instant. "I think that's enough for today," Paul announced. "Lotte needs some more rest. I wanted to glare at him but the memory of my father was drowning out everything else.

Mom walked away, saying something about wanting to cook some dinner. She even went so far as to compliment the kitchen. And they she sashayed out of the room, her hips swaying as she walked away. Paul turned his full attention to me. _"Are you okay?"_

_"Why wouldn't I be?" _Even as I asked the question with the hopes deflecting him, I felt a tear slide down my cheek. I brushed it away before Paul could notice it. But it was swiftly followed by another. And another. And another. I hadn't had a moment to truly mourn my father's death. I had been so focused on staying alive long enough to get out of there that I couldn't do much else. Once it was all over, once I was safe again, I had been struggling for my life.

Paul wrapped his arms around me, careful of some of the flesh that was still raw from the lashings, and hauled me into his lap. His lips were in my hair, his thumbs stroking over my shoulder blade. I could feel his lips moving against my scalp. I knew he was talking to me, but I couldn't hear him. I never would. But the thought didn't cause the pang that it always had. My father had been right. This was where I belonged. And he wouldn't want me to sit there and cry while my life was waiting to be lived.

I'm sure I sounded like a snorting bull or something to that effect. I took a few deep breaths that shook as I inhaled. "Are you okay?" he asked after a few moments. I told myself to nod; I told myself to tell him that I was just fine. I told myself not to give him a reason to worry. But I found myself to shaking my head. I laid my cheek against his shoulder, just short of his collarbone. He lifted my chin again, like he had earlier. "You've been through so much, babe. It's okay not to be back to one hundred percent after two weeks."

But any of the other imprints would have been able to jump back to being normal. Ryanne had gone through her own horrors and came home, prepared to be just like everyone else. Penn had gone through hell and acted just like the Penn that she'd always been. Emily'd had her face cut open and still behaved ladylike less than a few days later. I was just being weak. I'd had more than enough time to recuperate, but I still felt like I was drained of all life. "Please talk to me, Charlotte. Please." I couldn't. If I told him what really went on in my head, he would know that I wasn't handling my month gone as well as he'd thought. "Don't hide from me. Tell me; let me help you get through all of this."

I wasn't handling it well on my own. I woke up most nights because Paul had been awoken by one of my bad dreams.I had relied on him from the very beginning of our relationship. So I sighed and looked at his chin, not willing to look at his eyes while I admitted my weakness. "I'm scared." The words felt like sandpaper, which meant that I probably hadn't articulated as well as I wanted to. "I'm afraid that I will never be okay again. I'm terrified that this is all just a dream and I'm going to wake up and still be strung up in that tree." The tears started again.

Paul began humming, his usual way of calming me down. "I'm not letting you go anywhere," he promised. The continual thrumming in his chest took my heart rate down a notch. "I will never let you out of my sight again if that's what you want."

"Forever is a long time."

"It's all I want from you, Lotte. But something tells me that a lifetime of being watched isn't what you want." He was right about that. I did have a value on my independence. "No one is going to be expecting you to just come out of this like nothing happened to you. Your parents hired a vampire to kidnap you. Your father died. Those aren't things that people just bounce back from. But you're not alone. You have me and Ariana and the Pack. Everyone will be here for you." I could feel my lips trembling. "Do want to rest or do you want to talk some more?"

I bit my lip. "Do you think that you could just stay with me for a little while? Just hold on to me until I fall asleep?" He nodded and let me bury my face against his chest. "Thank you, Paul." His only response was another kiss to my hair and the beginning of another song in his chest.


	74. Chapter LXXIII

**Author's Note: Here's your chapter for the night! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXIII**

I probably shouldn't have been too surprised that Paul kicked his overprotective instincts into overdrive. Ari and I were barely allowed out of his sight for longer than it took to go to the bathroom. Which made it all the more difficult for him to find a place for Ari to stay the night of the bonfire. It was to be my first with the Pack. I probably shouldn't have been as excited as I was, but I couldn't contain it. It was the first time that I was actually invited to a bonfire. And besides that, all my friends would be there.

My joy, however, wasn't enough to make Paul calm down. _"You call either one of us if you need anything, Ariana."_ The almost-fourteen-year-old rolled her eyes at her big brother as if he was completely overreacting to the world. _"I'm serious, Ari. I've already had one girl taken from me and I'm not risking the other. If something even _**_smells_**_ fishy, I expect you to call me."_

_"Nothing is going to happen."_ I almost lifted my hands to tell him that my mother was at home and we could go and have our day out, but didn't bother. My mother wasn't the best parent in the world. And since she _had_ tried to have me "reformed," I doubted that Paul wanted his baby sister to be around her. _"Why don't you and Charlie just go off and have a grand old time?"_

_"No one says stuff like that anymore,"_ I replied.

_"I'm trying to help _**_you_**_ out." _The little imp stuck her tongue out at me and grabbed her duffle from her bed. _"I have my phone on me and I'll call you before I go to bed. I'll even text Charlie. Now, can I please go?"_ It was good to see the girl enjoying her life like a normal teenager should be. I smiled and nodded and moved forward to kiss her cheek. _"Bye guys."_ Paul kissed her cheek and sent her on her way. The two of us stood on the porch and watched her drive away, much like two parents would.

_"Maybe I should pop by the house and make sure that she gets there safe."_

_"Nothing is going to happen, Paul." _

_"I could send one of the guys over there. Just to make sure she didn't get in a car accident or something."_

_"You're being ridiculous, babe."_ I stood up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. _"Why don't we go take a shower and relax before the bonfire?"_ Just like every time that I'd asked in the last month, though, he kissed me sweetly and set me aside. For twenty-seven days now, I'd been letting him walk away from me like there was nothing wrong. But we were alone for the first time since I'd come home. My mother had decided that New York was the place for her to stay for the time being. She would like to "reevaluate her position as a parent." Ariana had gone out for the night and would be back in the morning. There was nothing for Paul to hide behind. So I grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him back in front of me. "Why do you keep doing that?" I demanded.

"Doing what?"

I swallowed hard, trying to think of the words that would make it the easiest for him to understand. "Why won't you let me try anything?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to walk away, but I held firm. "Just go take your shower, Charlotte." I dropped my hand from his shirt and stumbled a few steps back with a sigh.

_"I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Paul. I don't know what's changed, but I'm sorry for all of this. When you decide that you'd like to tell me what I can do to fix this, please let me know."_ I'd done so much crying in the last few weeks that I couldn't stand the thought of shedding another tear. Least of all crying in front of Paul. So I turned around and started towards the bathroom, planning on doing exactly what he had suggested.

My intentions were derailed when his heated grip wrapped around my elbow and spun me back. It sent me into a slight spiral, my brain going fuzzy for just a moment. _"You think you did something wrong?"_ What else could it be? Paul was always concerned about me and my back but those wounds were healed. But there were scars. My once perfect skin was scarred and marked by the damage that monster had done. I highly doubted that Paul could stand to look at them. _"Answer me, Charlotte. Do you think that you've done something wrong with us?"_

_"It's the scars, right?_ Right? You can't look at them?" I blurted it out. I had tried every cream that they made. I had practically bathed my skin in vaseline in an attempt to keep them from standing out. And while they weren't as prominent as Nate's, they were certainly there. The skin was raised and bubbled and rough. But they were still pink in some places and white in the others. _"I didn't ask for them, Paul. And if you're going to hate looking at me because of them, could you just do me the favor of letting me know first?"_

It was like his knees suddenly gave way. He dropped to the ground so quickly, I was amazed that the floorboards of the porch didn't give out underneath him. He cradled his head in his hands and looked down at the ground. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn't make it out. After a long moment, he looked up at me. _"I don't like to see the scars." _I nodded and tried to swallow my tears. _"But not because I don't like looking at you. Charlotte, I love you. I love you and no amount of scars is ever going to change that."_

I sank to the ground beside him, deciding that I was completely and utterly confused now. If he didn't hate looking at me, then why couldn't we do anything together? He wouldn't even shower with me anymore. _"Then why, Paul? What did I do?" _

_"_**_You_**_ didn't do anything. I did. Or, I guess, it's what I didn't do that bothers me." _

_"I don't understand." _

_"I hate seeing them because they're a reminder of all the time that you spent away from me. Every single one of the marks is a time that I wasn't there to protect you from getting hurt. Even with the scars, you're the most beautiful person that I've ever seen. The problem is that I couldn't protect you. As a wolf, that's my one job." _I tried to lift my hands and tell him that he was being stupid, but he wrapped his fingers around mine and pressed a hand over my mouth. _"I'm supposed to protect my imprint. I'm supposed to make you my priority. And I let you get hurt. I let you get kidnapped and tortured because I wasn't paying enough attention to you." _I mumbled against his hand but he couldn't understand what I was saying better than I could enunciate it. _"I don't hate you. I hate myself."_

I grabbed hold of his hand then and insistently pulled until he removed it from my mouth. "You cannot hate yourself, Paul."

"I didn't protect you."

"But you can't hate yourself for that. It was something beyond your control Paul. And I love you. You are a part of me. You can't hate yourself because that's the same as hating me," I argued. "Unless, unless you -"

"Don't even think that, Lotte. I can't think of anyone who could hate someone as kind and warm as you are," he snapped. His lips protruded from his face in an effort to make the words more hostile. His brows drew together in sharp angles to make it known to the world that he was unhappy. "I still love you; I still want you. I just - - How can you trust me after all the things that I _let_ happen to you?"

I took a deep breath, feeling it hitch in my lungs while I tried to figure out what to say to him. How did you tell your Spirit Warrior boyfriend that your torture by a sadistic vampire wasn't his fault? I was good with words when they were signed. I was good with words when they were written. I was getting better at words when they were spoken. But the one thing that Paul LaHote was never good at was words. Maybe it was just a matter of making him understand what I wanted, where I was coming from with this.

I twisted the fingers that were trapped under his hand until I could hold him and stood, dragging him along with me. _"Let me show you."_


	75. Chapter LXXIV

**Author's Note: I know that it's been a while. Last week, my family was hit with a very unexpected death. I've been picking up the pieces, trying to get everything together. While ****_writing_**** hasn't been a problem, time has been lacking. I'm very sorry. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXIV:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Jake, being the new Alpha, hosted the end of the summer bonfire. Lotte had been eager to get down there. I was excited to see my friends, but there was a fear that I couldn't get rid of. Since the attack, I hadn't let my imprint out of my sight. When I had lost her that day at the theater, I had only left her alone for a second or two. And then she was gone. I knew that it was a stupid overreaction, but I couldn't bring myself to leave her again. In fact, it took a few rude glares and some rather strong sign language before I would leave her side to go and play with the other guys. "How's she doing?" Jared asked. Lotte and Kim, who had taken to each other right away, were happily chatting.

"She's okay. Some nights she still has nightmares. She screams and thrashes, but she wakes up pretty easily," I said. I wasn't going to explain that it hurt me to realize that she was still afraid of something. It felt like she wasn't trusting me to protect her. And I couldn't really expect her to do anything different. She should have been able to put her trust in me. I had turned my back on her for a few moments and then she had vanished. After she'd up and disappeared, I hadn't gotten her. I hadn't been able to save her from the pain that she endured.

"Hey." I turned to find Nate standing behind me. He'd always been an easy going guy. I liked him, regardless of the fact that he wasn't a wolf. He was just as tough as the rest of us most of the day. "She'll be okay. Nightmares... they go away."

"Yours did; once you knew that Leah would be there with you. She's been home for weeks now and she still has them," I snapped.

"You want to know what I think?"

"Not really." Any other person that _wasn't_ a wolf would have back down immediately. Nate spent enough time with us to know when he should back down. He may _know_; he certainly didn't care. He stood toe to toe with me.

"She's not going to get rid of the nightmares until _you're_ rid of them," he said. The man was several years older than me and a few inches shorter than me, but the fire that was glimmering in his eyes was dangerous. "You know why my nightmares went away? I didn't have someone lying in bed with me blaming themselves. Leah was there to take care of me; she wasn't moping. I didn't have to feel like I needed to convince her that none of this was her fault." Which was definitely what I had been doing. I wasn't a fool; everything that she'd been forced to endure was my fault. "You think that she should hate you, right?"

"Of course," I snarled. "You don't understand Nate. You're more like one of the girls than you are like us." I knew it wasn't true; I was just trying to be hurtful. I wanted him to leave me alone. I sure as fuck didn't ask for his help. "She should be mad at me."

"But that's where you're wrong," he replied. "It has nothing to do with being a wolf or an imprint or anything like that. It has to do with being a man. And in that respect, I'm just like you. I don't need to phase or have the super senses that you do. I just have to know that what I did was wrong. The worst thing that you could have imagined happening was her deciding that she didn't want you anymore, right?" I nodded. "But she didn't. So instead of pointing out all the reasons that she _should_ leave you, why don't you give her all the things that make her want to stay. And work on the ones might make her leave."

"Nate's right," Jake spoke up. "We can beat ourselves up for the things that we've let happen to our imprints but that doesn't give us the right to make the decision for them. If anyone has fucked up with their imprint, it'd be me." Sam grunted and lifted a hand to point to himself. "One mistake hardly qualifies as 'fucking up'," Jake jumped in. An argument began then, over who had wronged the imprint the most. The only one who had nothing to say was Quil. As long as he played with his imprint, she was more than happy to call him her favorite.

A whistle pierced the night air a little while later. After being yelled at by most of the guys, we had given up on the "bad boyfriend" argument and gone ahead with our game of football. But at the sound of the dinner bell, or whistle in this case, all of us were sprinting towards the fire. I grabbed Lotte about the waist and gently hauled her to me. She squealed and giggled, but didn't fight me. Instead, she pivoted in my arms, her hair flying behind her and leaving me breathless.

Nate was right. Here I was trying to get my imprint to leave me. The smile on her face said that she didn't want to be anywhere else. Who was I to tell her what she wanted? I had failed to protect her before, but it would never happen again. I would never leave her to fend for herself again. So really, what did she have to worry about? I had learned from my mistakes. I wasn't going to let her come to harm again. Beating myself up and telling her to be cautious of me wasn't going to change what happened. And only I could change our future.

I cupped her face in my hands and smiled down at her. I kissed her nose first and pulled back, looking at the hope that was shining in her eyes. It was like looking at the sun, so bright and happy. It almost hurt to look at her. But I couldn't bring myself to look away from her. Her hair hunger straight around her face, falling over one shoulder. Her lips were plump and curved in that wonderful smile, their rust color contrasting with her white teeth. "I love you," I vowed. She smiled and mouthed the sentiment back at me. And then, just to be sure that she understood, I kissed her thoroughly.

By the time the legends were done and the _real_ Pack information began, most of the imprints were asleep or falling asleep. I had placed Lotte on the ground between my knees, making sure that her back was shielded from any threat, accidental or not. But between the heat of the fire and her overall exhaustion, she'd rested her head against my thigh and fallen asleep, her delicate snores rumbling from her chest. "The girls are tired," Jake said after we'd been talking for a while. "Let's get home. We all have girls and families to take care of. There's nothing pressing. We just need to be careful with all of the worry about the Volturi. Keep you eyes open and don't be afraid to call for help if you're on patrol."

That being said, everyone gathered their imprints up. I gingerly lifted Charlotte into my arms. She grumbled in her sleep and burrowed herself closer to me. I smiled down at her, unable to resist kissing her forehead just one time. I pulled her jacket closer around her, hoping that it would be enough to keep her warm while I walked to the house. "Paul," she muttered. I looked down, thinking that she was awake, but only found her giggling and smiling. She rubbed her cheek against my chest. It was certainly an amazing thing to hear her sweet voice. Incredible to think that this girl had gone through all the trouble of_ learning _to speak. Astonishing to know all of the things that she'd overcome in her lifetime.

The house was dark, proof of its vacancy. In theory, I could tell Lotte that she had nothing to worry about. We'd used the house's emptiness to our advantage earlier. I knew that she would probably take that as a sign that I was getting over my self-hatred. But it wasn't. I was just trying to give her what she wanted. Nate had been right, though. What she wanted and what I was giving were two entirely different things. And maybe it was time to rectify that.

I tightened my arms around her as I took the stairs and marched back to the bedroom, barely remembering to slam the door shut behind me. My lack of ability to _quietly _close a door was one of the reasons I found to be thankful Lotte was deaf. One of the few, but it was the little things that I had to look for in order to ensure my sanity. No sound would wake her. But putting her down on the cold bed did. Her beautiful brown eyes looked back at me with the sleepiest expression I had ever seen.

She patted the bed in invitation and slid away from me, giving me enough room to join her. Maybe sex wasn't the answer. She didn't seem like that was what she needed. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her back against my chest, marveling at the way that she fit so perfectly in my arms. Sex wouldn't tell her that I was ready to stop sulking.

But a good date would. One where she _didn't_ get kidnapped.


	76. Chapter LXXV

**Author's Note: I know, new pen name, long time since I've updated. We should be able to get back to the daily update now. I was living with my cousin's husband (she was the one who passed) to help take care of his kids. But I'm moving back to my own house. I'm really sorry that it's been so hectic. Enjoy! Oh, and the pen name thing will make sense in a few weeks. **

**Chapter LXXV**

I woke up in the morning and rolled over stretching across the length of an empty bed... Empty. I hadn't woken up without Paul in bed beside me in months. I honestly couldn't remember the last time that I hadn't had him with me. I blinked hard and rolled onto my side, digging my fingers into my sand ridden hair. Where was he? Had something come up? I shoved myself off the bed, feeling the sand cascade down my body. A shower was definitely in order.

Standing in front of the window, I took hold of a few things. The sun wasn't very high in the sky, so it was still early. The snow wasn't sticking to the ground, so the Volturi was still a threat. The Pack was told they would arrive when the snow was sticking to the ground. It was only August; no snow for our little peninsula just yet. Perhaps it was a nomad that had given the guys more troubles than they had anticipated. But then, that couldn't be it. Paul always woke me before he headed out. He had a patience that I had never seen before, so it would be extremely odd for him to have awoken before me and not waited for me. All of these possibilities, which I was shooting down just as fast as they came to me, still weren't helping me figure out where he was.

As if in answer to my question, a pair of warm, strong arms wrapped themselves about my waist and hauled me against a well-chiseled chest. Paul. I placed my own hands on top of his, looking at the size and shapes of them. His hands were so large, so warm, so square. Mine were more slender, easily identifiable as feminine. Our skin tone was almost the same, his just held the sun-kissed glow. He obviously spent more time out in the sun then I did. Now that my sunburn and the subsequent tan had faded, I was my natural Native American Quileute tone. Paul turned lips that smelled like his coffee into my neck and planted a kiss along my pulse.

I turned in his arms and looked up at him with a smile on the ready. Instead, he pressed his lips to mine immediately. I could taste the sweetness of his coffee creamer and the lingering tanginess of his morning orange juice. I was lost in the passion of the moment, my hands having traversed up his chest and into his hair. I curled my fingers around the strands and tugged, pulling him closer and closer until he wasn't Paul. He was just a part of me, an extension to my soul. We weren't two people. This was what the imprint was supposed to be. It was designed this way.

It seemed like years later that I was finally breathless enough to pull away from him. He didn't seem to want to let me go, though. He pulled me to him again, tucking my head underneath his chin. He kissed the top of my head a few times before I felt the heaviness of his cheek pressed against my scalp. His chest rumbled with what I assumed was his morning greeting. "Good morning," I forced through a throat that felt like sandpaper. A chuckle shook me as I clung to him. His arms squeezed me so tight, I thought my eyes might just pop out of my head.

Just like that, he let me go and pulled back to look down at me. "Good morning, my darling little Lotte." My brows came together at his words. I hadn't seem him this happy, this _light_ in weeks. It was like he was floating on a cloud, walking on the rays from the sun. "Come along; I have some breakfast for you." He turned me along and drew me behind him to the bed. There were two bed trays lying there, both of them piled high with food. Homemade biscuits, honey butter, eggs cooked in more ways than I could name, bacon _and_ sausage. It was like the man was cooking for an army. Or a very hungry wolf.

_"This looks amazing."_ He smiled down at my compliment. He leaned down to kiss me instead of saying anything else. _"When did you start cooking?" _

_"You don't want to know."_ It looked like it had certainly taken him a while. I was almost afraid to go and see what my beautiful kitchen had become in the last hour or more. I clambered back up into his bed and let him draw the trays up to our laps. _"I had an idea and I wanted to know what your thoughts on it were." _I picked up a crispy piece of bacon and crunched it in my mouth. _"We never really got to finish our date."_ The memories flooded me, but not the ones of our date. Instead I found myself remembering my kidnapping, my torture, the pain, the heat, the blood, the laughter that would shake that monster's shoulders when I cried out and prayed for Paul to come. Paul's long fingers came up to grab my chin and turn my face towards him. _"Don't think about it, baby. I'm never going to let anything get you again."_ I nodded, worried that any fear on my side would only prove to him that I wasn't trusting him. _"I was thinking that _**_instead_**_ of going out where I could lose sight of you again -"_

_"Paul," _I warned.

_"I want the two of us to stay in this bed, watching television and movies. I want us to talk about anything and everything and nothing all at the same time."_ I would have never guessed that Paul LaHote had such a sweet, soft romantic side to him. I smiled at him, almost afraid to lift my hands and reveal their shaking. _"You are not to leave this room. I would say this bed but if you have to pee..."_ And just like that, the romantic Paul was out the window again. The problem was that I wouldn't change a thing about the boy to save my life. _"I want you to relax, Charlotte."_

_"I was relaxed last night and I'm more than relaxed right now."_ His eyes misted over in an emotion that I had never seen before.

_"I want us to talk, Lotte. I owe you an apology for the way that I have treated you since I brought you home."_ Since he brought me home, not since I'd been gone. I suppose that was a step in the right direction. It was better than him attempting to apologize for the things that he couldn't change. _"I keep trying to say that I'm okay. But at the same time, I'm trying to push you away."_ God knows _that_ was the truth. I nodded again, still looking in his eyes. I couldn't read him, which was strange. I couldn't figure out what it was that he wanted from me.

With swift motions that I barely saw, Paul removed both trays of food from our bed and pounced on me. His hands caught my wrists and pinned them above my head, his knees resting on either side of my hips. He stayed hunched over me where I could see him mouth. And believe me when I say that I was more than willing to stare at the pout and recall a million different things that he had done to me. Hopefully, he would be willing to do them again someday soon. "I keep telling myself that you couldn't want me again. It would only make sense. I was supposed to protect you and I didn't."

I opened my mouth to argue with him, prepared to scream at the top of my lungs and telling him to knock his shit off. But I couldn't. Paul locked his mouth to mine and shifted my hands so that he was holding my wrists in one hand. When he pulled away, the fingers on his free hand worked on my neck until he found the tiny, upraised scars of his mark. "When I gave you this, I was tying you to me for the rest of your life. What I didn't realize was that I was also tying myself to you." I smiled up at him.

"I love you, Paul."

"You're not mine, Lotte. I'm yours. Or it works both ways. Or whatever you want to say, Lotte," he replied. His fingers were still playing with my little scars. I don't know why they were so sensitive, but they felt his every touch and sent pulses of desire down my spine and into my very core. "I was thinking, Miss Charlotte Rivers, that maybe its time that we do this again." He was still stroking the skin on my neck, making it impossible for me to focus on what he was saying. "This time, I'll know what I'm doing a little better."

"Paul," I moaned, the plea escaping before I could stop it.

"Lotte?"

"Shut up," I griped, grasping his shoulders and craning my neck until he was lost in the kiss and I could set to work on his shorts. And Paul just chuckled, his chest vibrating against mine as I reveled in the man that I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Him, me, and his sister.


	77. Chapter LXXVI

**Author's Note: For those who aren't aware, I have changed my pen name. All things will make sense in the next few weeks. There is a new update timetable that has gone into effect this week. Also, I am moving (again) back out to school. If updates do not occur over the weekend, it's because I have a nice, 18-hour drive in my near future. In addition, we are nearing the end of this story. After tonight's chapter, I predict four more and an epilogue. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXVI**

My first Christmas at Paul's house was unlike anything I had ever known. I had expected to hear from my mother, after all we had been through it would only make sense that she come around for Christmas. I was quickly proven wrong, though. Much like she had all the other Christmas years that I remembered, she just sent a little card wishing me, Paul, and Ari a Merry Christmas. Paul had ripped it to shreds, calling the things disingenuous, rude, and all together cruel. _"She's the one who had you kidnapped, after all,"_ he'd reminded me. I didn't say anything.

How could I respond? He was right. There was nothing for me to say. My mother had ordered the kidnap, but at the end of the day, the vampire was only out for pain. He wanted to hurt me; and if it hadn't been me, he would have found someone else. That was what I told myself to keep myself from screaming with pain. Admitting that my mother had played a big part in my pain was difficult for me. I wanted to believe the best in her, regardless of what had happened. Still, Christmas came and passed without so much as a phone call from her.

I chose to focus on the better things that had happened over the holiday. Ari, being the fourteen-year-old that she was, excitedly bounced on our bed at five in the morning on the day of the holiday. Her youthful eyes were bright and twinkling and ringed with dark shadows, evidence that she had been up all night long waiting for this day. Paul groaned and shoved himself up on an elbow to face me. _"It's our first Christmas without my father." _Her excitement suddenly made sense. Ari bounced up and down again, sending the mattress into shivers. With a semi-dark look on his face, Paul turned to regard his sister. She rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, marching out of the room with her mouth flying. "I bought us a few minutes." His eyes were positively glowing with joy. _"Merry Christmas."_

I opened my mouth to tell him the same, but his lips covered mine and took the words from my throat. Our Thanksgiving holiday had been mostly uneventful. Jared had invited us to join him, Kim, and the housekeeper. But from what I understood, their father had allowed that holiday. It was a chance for him to be a glutton, to eat whatever food Paul had scrounged up and engorge himself with beer. Christmas, the very idea of it, was forbidden. Why would someone just _give_ gifts? I doubted Mr. LaHote would have understood it.

Paul's hand slid up the satin green camisole that he had given me the previous night. He and Ari anticipated this holiday like nothing I had ever seen before. They said it was their tradition to open one present on Christmas Eve. Much to Paul's pleasure, I had opened the box of matching camisole and shorts with cream lace on the trim. The emerald green was such a different tone against my skin, it brought out a natural olive tone I had never noticed before. Paul had opened a pair of boxes that I'd tied together. A newer phone was on the top, since Paul had smashed the last one to smithereens. Underneath, I had purchased a newer tablet computer for him. He needed something better than the piece of shit that he was working with. It was a wonder he'd gotten anywhere with that thing.

Much to Paul's displeasure, I had given Ari something long needed. When she had reached that wonderful age where she needed to get a bra, Paul had taken her to Victoria's Secret and asked them to outfit her with four bras. From what I understood, the girls had been endeared by the boy with the little sister. But Ariana, understanding that her family didn't have money, had bought the plain, daily colors. Her most exciting piece was yellow instead of nude. Being the person who did the laundry, I had figured out the girl's size and took myself off to Port Angeles to buy her something nice. Paul had been appalled when his baby sister opened the satin and lace bra with matching boyshort underwear. I bought the turquoise blue with pearl lace, trying to keep it out of the range of seductive.

Ari had launched herself into my arms with the brightest smile that I had ever seen. Paul had chastise me for giving her such a gift. In his own words, "He knew what boys thought about when they passed those things in the mall." I just smiled and dropped my bathrobe so that he could see the satin garments he'd bought me. "See!" he'd exclaimed. "There is a reason I bought those." I giggled, but his reaction _had_ prepared me for what I would have to endure today. Ari was no longer a child, but rather a young woman. It was vital that she had someone to help her through the transition. The last she needed to become was one of the misguided teens that assumed adulthood meant sex and satiny underclothes meant lingerie.

When Paul finally pulled away, I smiled at him. "Merry Christmas, Paul." He took another kiss, seemingly unsatisfied with just one. A few moments in, however, a groan vibrated in his throat. A little brown head, a few inches shorter than my own, bobbed passed the door. _"We should get going before she sets the bed on fire."_ Paul mumbled something, the mashing of his lips did little for me but flame my desire again.

Paul's hand sought my own as he dragged me out of the bed and stood me at the foot of the bed. Looking much like a husband and wife, like parents, we donned our robes and slippers and drowsily managed to get to the front room. Ariana was circling the couch like a impatient puppy. Upon spotting us, she dashed into the kitchen and returned with two mugs of hot coffee for each of us. I took a long draw from mine, placed it on a coaster, and settled myself into the couch. _"Did you think that giving us coffee was going to butter us up?"_ She just smiled and made another run for the Christmas tree. _"Honestly, Ari, it's not like these presents are_**_ going_**_ anywhere." _

I looked to Paul, expecting to see my mirth mirrored in his eyes. Although his expression was tempered, the look in his eyes was closer to his sister's. It was truly the first Christmas that they'd ever had. I felt almost out of place sitting in the room. While I had never had a "family Christmas" by any stretch of the imagination, my father had always been generous in his gift giving. There was nothing too expensive for him to buy because it was one of the few ways that he could make up for all the times that he was gone. Paul'd had to hoard presents, hide them at others' homes, just in the hopes of giving his sister a new toy.

Paul took his place alongside me, keeping my hand tucked in his once he was seated. Ariana doled out each of the presents. Paul had pestered me for weeks about my wish list, but in truth, there was little that I wanted. We had seen that everything on Ariana's list was purchased, allowing the girl a little bit of spoiling just once. Ariana and I had gone out and taken a few photos of us together at the beach, with Penn's help, naturally. Paul had invited her to spend the day with us, but with the sudden return of her mother, she had only accepted the invitation to dinner.

I watched with a nervous eye as the love of my life opened the framed photos of me and his sister. I watched his face turn red with anger when he realized that I had bought his sister more frilly underthings. I watched Ariana's eyes tear up when she opened the quilt that I had made for her. I had used all of Paul's old shirts that she'd outgrown using as nightgowns. At least, this way, she could still hold the good memories of her childhood. It was only once they were both finished and tears were streaming down Ari's cheeks that Paul noticed I had yet to touch a single one of the presents that were laid at my feet.

_"Do you not want them?"_ Ariana's fearlessness, her inability to filter her thoughts, was something I dearly hoped she didn't lose. It was one of the worst things about growing up. Children weren't afraid to ask question, regardless of propriety.

_"I was just watching you open yours."_ I had had many Christmas celebrations over the years, but I was sure that none was like the one that I was witnessing. There was so much love here, so much joy in this home. Even the simplest gift meant so much to them. Ariana was wrapped in her quilt, symbolically wrapped in her brothers arms. She crawled towards me and nudged a few boxes at me.

I hadn't known what to expect. The clothing and headphones that I'd been given were truly a joy. The last box, however, sat in Paul's lap. With a not so discreet nod to the kitchen, Paul dismissed his sister. He turned to face me without a smile on his face. The lack of it disturbed me. Surely the boy would be smiling on a day like today. He placed the little box in my hands and smiled. _"I hope you know how difficult it was to get this."_


	78. Chapter LXXVII

**Author's Note: I know it's been a very, very, very long time. I can't apologize enough. My life was a little more than crazy. Anyways, we're nearing the end, so enjoy!**

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**C****hapter LXXVII**

I pinched the box between my thumb and forefinger, gnawing on my lip while I was struggling to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. Paul's patience could only stretch so far. He grabbed the box from my fingers and opened it, holding it in front of me. Nestled in the middle of the turquoise band was a small band, no larger than a caret. The silver of the band gleamed in the lights from the Christmas tree. My heart stopped beating all together. "W-w-what is this?" I asked him, silently begging him to give me the answer that I wanted.

I wondered if my heartbeat could be heard as loudly as it hammered against the wall of my sternum. He placed the velvet box on the cushion between us. _"My grandmother's."_ I sucked in a tight breath and tried not to stare like a deer caught in the headlights. _"My mom used to love the ring. When she left, my father tried to, uh, tried to sell it."_ I cocked my head to the side. "I don't know the sign for 'pawn'." I nodded; it wasn't a common sign for him to use. "Anyways, _I stole it. And I buried it in the backyard because I knew that someday I would find someone that I wanted to give it to."_ I watched with eyes that were filled with caution as he pulled the ring from his box. _"At the very least, I could have given it to Ariana. But I think that it suits you better than it would suit her."_ My lips were trembling as he lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, sliding the ring over the ridges of my fingers until it sat firmly on my left ring finger.

"I love you, Charlotte Rivers. I dug up our entire backyard trying to find that damn ring. I did, it though." The dirt underneath his nails said he'd only _just_ finished finding it before he came to bed the night before. "I want you, not just tonight or a few weeks ago. I want you for the rest of my life and maybe even longer. I love you so much, I literally ache with it. I don't know what you could possible see in a guy like me. I don't know what it is that you think that I can give you, Lotte." I just wanted him to stop talking.

I leaned forward and gripped the back of his neck, dragging him closer until his lips met mine and I was able to lose myself in the passion that he inspired. But before I felt myself totally tumble into his arms and forget all the things that I should be doing, Paul pulled back. "I love you, Lotte. Marry me; join yourself to me in every way. Please, baby. Please." I couldn't standing watching his lips form the plea. I kissed him again, this time tracing the lines of his ribs, the muscles of his chest. His fingers tangled in my hair until I felt like I was lost in a whirlpool. He gently pressed me onto my back, his weight pressed against me. It was an eternity later when he pulled back and dragged me with him. _"You haven't given me an answer_." There was a question?

Right! _"Did you ever doubt for a moment that I would marry you?"_ I pulled his face closer to me and took a long, slow kiss from his lips. _"Is there anything else in the world that I would rather be?"_ He looked at me like I had signed gibberish instead of English. I kissed him again and waited until he was out of breath to pull back. "Yes, I will marry you." And Paul, sweet, temperamental, hot-headed Paul LaHote, looked down at me like I was the most important thing in the world. With an undefined shout that I would never hear, Ariana came flying through the doorway and launched herself in between us.

She was shouting something or another. Every once in a while, I would catch the word family in her jumbled dialect. All in all, I would have to say that it was the happiest day of my life.

And I would be completely wrong. The happiest day of my life was four days later. Having faxed the license to my mother and forged Paul's father's signature, we stood before Billy Black and married. For the first time in what felt like months, I wore a dress. It was one of the debutante ones that I used to wear all the time, white organza and a pink sash. A sash that perfectly matched Ari's dress that we had bought her specifically for the wedding. True to his style, Paul wore a white button down shirt that was just a little too open and dark slacks.

I made the walk down the little aisle with Ariana in hand, trying to make it seem like as much of a normal wedding as possible. Paul had his head hanging low, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, playing with the toe of his new dress shoes when we arrived. And he looked at me like I was everything that he would ever need in the world, like I was all that there was. It was a look that I understood, too. Because I would never need anything but Paul; not ever again.

Emily had agreed to keep Ari for the next week while Paul and I had our pseudo honeymoon. We had decided that in a few years, when life had settled down more and we had money, we would remarry and go on a real honeymoon. For now, a week to ourselves would be the best thing that we could ask for. Of course, four days into our honeymoon, Paul was officially called away. They were coming; they would be here all too soon. The snow had begun to stick, but it didn't stop Paul from sneaking home, from us having our day together (or night, whichever was easiest). Now, it was just too close.

He kissed me goodbye at Sam and Emily's door, making me promise to stay there. I held him close, wanting nothing more than to force him to come in the house with me and stay there. "I have to go now, Lotte."

"You have to come back, Paulie." Between the way my voice sounded when I spoke and the sob that was clogging my throat, it was a miracle that he understood. But he must have because he kissed me again and held me so tightly, I thought I just might burst. It was his grip, however, that was keeping me together.

"I will not leave you, Charlotte LaHote." It was only the second time that he'd ever called me that, but the reaction was the same. It was a tingling that shook me down to my very core, the realization that I no longer belonged to my father or my mother. I was Paul's; I was his wife, his love, _his_ through and through. He stepped away, erecting the wall that I had spent a year trying to tear down again. It was the only way that he knew how to go off and fight. That much I had learned about him. Paul had to separate himself in order to do things, not to have emotions._ "Stay in the house until I get back."_ I nodded, silently wishing that all the pieces of Paul would fit into one person. It was always difficult to see him walk away silent and moody. But it was life; it was the way that he survived. Worry would only effect his focus and I would lose him. Anything was better than losing him.

_"Stay safe, Paul. Make smart decisions."_ He nodded, but the wall was still there. _"Do me a favor and come home in one piece? I have a husband that I'd like to be with for the rest of my life. If not a little longer."_ The wall fell for a brief second, a glimmer of love there in his eyes. _"I need you, husband."_ He nodded and turned away from me. I wanted to call out to him, to make him come back to me. This was what he'd always done. When the newborns attacked, he'd put me where he thought that I would be safe, told me he loved me, put up his defenses again, and walked away. But if there was one thing that I had learned watching my father's marriage it was that you don't change the people that you love to suit your needs. You love despite their faults, their problems, their demons. I turned away, to head back to the house where I had promised I would be.

Thundering vibrations brought my head back around. I was just quick enough to see Paul's hands reaching for me. His kiss was rough, desperate, and loving all at the same time. He pulled away breathing roughly and looking down at me. _"I love you, Lotte. I'll be back for you and my sister. And then we'll be a family again. Once all this vampire shit is over with, we'll be a real family."_ This time when he turned away, there was a real emotion in his eyes. My own filled with tears as I watched him, because I knew that Paul had given me the greatest gift that I could ever ask for.

Himself.


	79. Chapter LXXVIII

**Author's Note: Okay, this is _not_ the end. I hope you all enjoy, though!**

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**Chapter LXXVIII**

Emily and I stayed at her home until Kim showed up. Apparently, Ryanne had texted and asked that we go over to the Black house, to take care of Billy. Penn showed up a while later, joking about how Billy handled Jake on his own. He didn't need us girls there to take care of him. But she was wrong. While Billy Black could handle the responsibilities of a chief and the insanity of the wolf Pack, the man still worried about his son. About his family. We weren't going there to cook or clean, although we certainly would. We were going there as a distraction, as a way for him to stop looking for his son every moment, for Ryanne every moment.

Penn didn't come in the house, though. Not for one moment. She walked around the house to the backyard. Emily and Kim said they heard some shouting from the front porch, but when I went out to try and talk to her, she asked me why we were at the Black house and said nothing else. I wasn't sure what happened between her and Embry. I only knew that she was upset, that something was bothering her. The only person that was going to get an answer out of her was Embry. That, of course, was only if she would talk to him when he got back around.

Emily was cooking and baking up quite the storm in the Blacks' kitchen. Kim, who was a little old school in her ways, was sitting down on the couch next to Billy. She listened to him prattle on about fishing, I think it was, while she sat there, crocheting a blanket. At one point, Emily joked that me, being deaf, should be sitting there listening to the man talked. Because no body wanted to hear that much about fishing. Kim had finished three scarves already, but Billy was still talking. I was on my hands and knees, meticulously scrubbing each and every inch of the hallway. There wasn't much to do. Ryanne kept the house clean.

But it didn't stop me from coming up with little excuses to do things. After I had washed the floorboards and scrubbed the tile in the bathroom, I found the excess paint in the kitchen. I all but repainted the hallway. I found some putty and covered the holes and cracks that were in the walls. When Emily finally sat down for a nap, having made a pound cake, ten dozen cookies, an angel food cake, and a flourless lava cake, I tackled the kitchen. The walls were freshly painted, in no need of my assistance. Luckily for me, Emily had been so focused on doing her baking that she had forgotten about the dishes.

I slipped my wedding band from my finger, although not before I stared at it for a few moments. I was the first of the wolves to be married. Well, technically, I was the first of the imprints to be married. I placed the ring on the counter, well out of harm's way. Moments later, I found my arms buried in sudsy water while I meticulously scrubbed every item that was left in the sink. A tap on my hip brought my head whipping around, hope burgeoning in my chest, a silent prayer for it to be Paul echoing in my head. Billy sat in his chair, looking up at me.

I had the thought that he would be, well is, a tall man if he wasn't bound to that chair. "You know we have a dishwasher, right?" There was a teasing glint to his eyes that said he knew exactly why I wasn't using the dishwasher. So I just shrugged and kept scrubbing, keeping my eyes on Billy to continue our conversation. "If you wouldn't mind, I have some old dress shirts that could use a hand washing."

I looked deep into his eyes, trying to see if he was really asking me to clean. In the dark depths that matched Jake's so exactly, I saw compassion. He was giving me something else. Another way to keep myself busy while I was waiting for the men to get home. "If you don't mind, of course. Kim would, but she's making me a small lap blanket to keep me warm during the fall months. Nothing as heavy as the winter blankets of course."

"Of course." He smiled at me when I spoke, looking for all the world like a proud father. I suppose that's what Billy was for all of us; he was the Father of the Pack. Even if he had never been a wolf himself, he handled each of the boys and each of us imprints personally. He remembered our quirks, our likes, our dislikes. It was unfortunate that his wife had died before he could have had more children. Perhaps that was why he was so fatherly to the rest of us.

"When you're finished, Emily wants to come back in. She's the only one who knows how to make those peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I so love." That was a lie; Ryanne came up with the recipe. Billy was just trying to give us something to do, to keep our minds and bodies occupied while we worried about our men and our family.

"Maybe while I work on your shirts," I struggled out, "you could tell me about where you go fishing." He quirked a look, like he was trying to figure out my motives. "Paul was talking about wanting to go." I knew it was a dumb excuse, but it was the best that I could give at the moment. He nodded again and started talking. I paid attention to him only long enough for him to get into his topic. I scoured the pots and pans and stove, unable to hear him and the talk about fishing.

What could have been moments but was probably an hour before Billy quietly excused himself and rolled out of the kitchen. I rushed into the living room to come face to face with Emily. She quietly shook her head, telling me that the boys weren't home. I sighed and took myself off to the laundry room. Billy had already set up his shirts and a bucket of bleach water.

There were no stains. In fact, they didn't even seem to need washing. But I scrubbed them regardless and set them on the clothesline that was hanging across the ceiling. I washed and hung them one by one. By the time that I had finished all the linens, I felt the first ones that I had completed. The first three were dry, the next four almost completely dry. I was pretty sure that some of these were Jake's but really, I needed the distraction anyways. I took time to iron each and every single one, folding them kindly, and placing them on the counter. Nothing I was trying to do was seeming to take enough time. Or maybe the guys were longer than I wanted to admit.

I was putting Billy's shirts away in his drawer, feeling like an intruder, when thundering vibrations alerted me to someone coming. Kim stood in the doorway, her hands full of yarn and hooks. Her chest was heaving, hope glowing in her yes. "They're back." I dropped the shirts, allowing them to come undone and fall down to the ground. I took the hallway as quickly as I could, stumbling as the rounded the corner. I gripped the framed opening for the hallway to steady myself. Emily was wrapped in Sam's arm, tears rushing down her face. Kim had beat me to the doorway. She launched herself into Jared's embrace, coiling her arms and legs around him. He didn't grimace or show any signs of being hurt, which gave me more hope than anything I had ever felt.

But Paul was no where to be scene. Of course, neither was Jake. Keeping one arm wrapped around Kim, Jared jerked a thumb to the front porch. I scrambled out there, throwing the door open just at the time that Paul was breaking the tree line. I sprinted to meet him, my heart breaking. I could have lost him. He caught me about the waist and hauled me to his chest. I felt the tears threatening to come down, but fought them back, afraid that I would miss one moment of seeing his beloved face after what had felt like years since I had seen him.

Once I was finally on my feet again, I gently probed his chest and neck and arms for wounds, wanting to make sure that there wasn't a single scratch on him. "You're alive," I breathed. He nodded, but it was the same tense nod that told me something was wrong. "You're okay, right? _Everyone is okay?"_

_ "Everyone will be fine..."_

There was something about his look that said that it wasn't as simple as what he was saying. _"Will be?"_

_ "Yeah; everyone is fine except for Leah, Quil, and - - and Embry."_

I turned, fear turning in my gut as I realized that Penn had to be somewhere nearby. I could see the anguish on her face and feel the fear pouring into her heart. For the first time in my life, I might have heard something when she screamed the denial. Holding me to his chest while I worried for my cousin, Paul told Penn where she could find him. He set me before him, like he was taking stock to make sure that _I_ was okay. _"Don't worry; it's over now. The evil's over."_

Except for the face that Embry was still gone.


	80. Chapter LXXIX

**Author's Note: Here you guys go! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXIX**

I clung to Paul the entire walk home. I even gave up on walking. At some point, he had given up on dragging me alongside him and scooped me into his arms. I wound my legs about his waist and my arms around his neck. I let him carry me like a child through the forest and to the house. He spoke the whole way home about something or another, but I had long since learned that Paul didn't need me to hear or even _know_ what he was saying. He just needed to get the words off his chest.

He deposited me on the bed and marched out to the kitchen to call Ariana's friend and let her know that he was coming to get her. After this scare, we needed our little family together again. "I'll be right back," he promised, scurrying off to go and get her. I wouldn't be surprised if Ari's friends started charging us for board pretty soon. She spent so much time there when the world around us was falling apart. "Don't you even think about moving." I smiled at him and nodded, settling back into my pillows. He was home. We were safe. Peaceful thoughts of Paul and me and our wedding filled my head as I drifted off to sleep.

The floor around me began to vibrate what felt like seconds later. A little dark haired monster jumped onto the bed beside me, the springs jiggling to take her sudden weight. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, waiting for my vision to adjust. Ari burrowed herself into my side as I wrapped an arm around her. Of course, her stillness only lasted a moment or two. She bounced around and sat up so that she was looking at me instead of lying against me. _"Did you know that I've always wanted a sister?"_ I smiled at her. _"I knew when you first met Paul that you would be a good person for him."_

_"Paul's been just as good for me."_ I could hardly look back at the girl that I was. I had changed so much, but it was most certainly for the better. Before I had met him, I had been a quite girl. I was hobbling along, hoping that I could just squeak by and gain my father's approval. Hell, the only thing that I had done for myself was my biking. It held no appeal to me now. I liked my life the way that it was. Not entirely, of course. I wished that my father could be back with us. Despite the fact that we had our difference and that he was a man stuck in the past, he still loved me.

_"Hey girls." _Paul plummeted down on the bed beside the two of us. Ariana erupted into a fit of giggles. I, myself, was laughing at the silly boy. _"I have to go and run an errand or two. You guys going to be okay for a little while?"_ Ari said something that had Paul swatting her. She dug a whole in the pillows behind me and burrowed herself there to escape her older brother.

_"While you're gone, I plan to burn the house down and maybe get in a bar fight."_ He looked at me with wide eyes and launched on top of me. _"I think you might be crushing your sister," _I accused while I attempted to get my breath back together.

His lips, warm and plump, found the tip of my nose. "You, my dear wife, will sit in this bed and hang out with my sister. You will not burn down the house." I smiled and raised my hands to tell him that I was kidding, but he continued. "And if I find one hair on this head out of place, I will have to kill someone."

Muffled vibrations from behind me told me that Ariana was probably threatening to murder me just to get a rise out of her brother. Paul growled at the little imp, which led to her shrieking some more. It took a while for life to settle down again, but eventually Paul kicked Ari out of our room and leaned over me like a vicious animal. One that I so loved. "I will be back in just a little bit," he promised. "Just do me a favor and don't let Ari kill you?"

He sprinted out the back door, stripping his shirt as he went. Ariana clambered back into the bed and sank herself into my side, sliding the remote up my stomach as she went. "Please? Please, please, please?" she begged as she found some stupid _Real Housewives_ show. "Paul won't let me watch because he thinks that it's stupid and I'm like three episodes behind. It's a marathon." Oh the woes of being a teen girl. I waved her off and laid back in the bed. I missed the days when I didn't have much to think about, when my worry was which dress I owned that would piss my father off the most. Yet, I wouldn't change it. Even now, lying in Paul's bed with his little sister snuggling up to me like the child that I had never thought I would have, I wouldn't change anything.

Embry survived his scrape with death, although I heard it was more of a soul-crushing experience than his bones. I was startled awake, this particular morning, by the feel of a warm body sliding away from me. Groggily, I opened my eyes. Paul held a finger to his lip and practically tiptoed out the door. I rolled myself from my side to my back and through an arm over my face, waiting for him to come back.

A few moments later, a warm hand wrapped around my wrist. I noted, like I usually did, that his thumbs overlapped. Damned huge hands; he tugged a little and pulled the hand from my face. I kept my eyes closed, though, not willing to get away from my dreams. Or, I suppose they were memories. Wetness touched down on my eyelids lightly and then against my lips. "Do you know what today is?" he asked when I had finally pried my eyes apart and looked at him. I shook my head, wishing that we could simply have a continuation of the night before. It was the end of the school year, meaning we seniors got to sleep in a little. Paul, of course, had taken Ari to school that morning. But then he'd rejoined me in bed. "It's graduation."

And just like that, sexy, sensual Paul gave slip to a little boy filled with excitement. He jumped on the bed until I was exhausted just simply from laughing, then slid a box across the counterpane. _"I told you that you have to stop giving me things," _I complained. He just smiled and shook his head like he had no intention of changing his mind any time soon. At his prompting, I slid the lid from the box and revealed the prettiest corral color that I had ever seen. I pulled the dress from the container, watching the pretty silk fabric float to the bed's top. It was sweetheart necklined with a beautiful black ribbon tied tight around the waist. "Paul?"

_"I thought that you might like something new for graduation. I have shoes to match, too." _He looked too much like a kind in a candy store for my taste. I narrowed my eyes at him for a minute or two and then cocked an eyebrow, waiting for him to give me some kind of response. _"Okay, so they're family heirlooms and I didn't spend a dime."_ He jumped off the bed and rushed towards the closet. I could see him digging around to find something or another, but I was still focused on the confection that he had placed before. _"They're obsidian," _he said, though it was difficult to understand with his hand wrapped around the baubles that he was holding. _"My grandfather found them ages ago. They say that they're a family heirloom, that he found them at the base of a volcano or something. Regardless, they're kind of beautiful. Polished and all that." _He dropped the necklace into my lap. The stones looked like gleaming pearls in the morning light. But they were, in fact, rocks like he said they were. He held the matching earrings out in his hand. _"I thought they might match the ribbon,"_ he signed after I had grabbed them from his hand.

He was right, of course. The black lace heels that he'd purchased for me really set off the pinkishness of the dress. With the change in our names, I was called right before Paul. We stood almost simultaneously, then the two of us walked down the bleacher steps, through the gym and received our diplomas. The Pack had their annual bonfire, celebrating graduation for those of us who had and end of the summer for those who hadn't.

It was one of the few times that outsiders were allowed to attend, which meant that Ari was allowed to go for a time. We were sitting around the fire, laughing, roasting marshmallows when Ari straddled the log and looked at me. _"Do you have a tampon?"_ she asked. Paul damn near choked on his s'more and turned away, pretending that he hadn't seen a word. I nodded and told her about a few that were in my purse. She scampered off to go and do her business. I gasped, realizing the month and the day...

And just how long it had been.

Shit.


	81. Chapter LXXX

**Author's Note: Okay, everyone, this is the last chapter. There will be an epilogue and that's it. Okay, enjoy!**

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**Chapter LXXX:****_ Paul's Point of View_**

Lotte had been surprisingly quiet the last few days. Not just in the fact that she was speaking less than normal. Her signs were coming fewer and fewer and I wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. There was a part of me that said that I should sit her down, or maybe get her off of the Rez, and find out what was wrong. There was another part of me that said that I should just leave her be. We had just graduated high school, the place that she had longed to go. She wanted to be a part of something bigger and now, it was over. She was probably trying to figure out what she wanted to do next with her life.

So I let her be, leaving her to decide what it was she wanted. What did I care? I would support her in anything she decided to do... So long as she didn't leave the surrounding area. God knows that I would lost my mind without her. A week later, however, I was getting even more concerned. She'd stopped drinking coffee in the mornings and had been complaining about the heat...in La Push...where there wasn't heat. "Enough is enough," I whispered one night when she'd curled herself in my arms. "I have to talk to her about it tomorrow." Knowing she wouldn't hear me, I tucked her a little closer and kissed her temple.

The next morning, Lotte woke before me. At least, I assumed that she had because she wasn't in bed when I opened my eyes. Then I picked up the stale stench of vomit drifting from the bathroom. My first thought was that Ari's kidney had given out, that my wife's sacrifice had been worth nothing. I rushed to the bathroom to find Charlotte lying with her head resting against the rim of the porcelain bowl. There were splatters of the smelly stuff on the toilet, but I assumed the most of it had made it down the toilet's drain. I touched a hand to her ebony silk to wake her, trying not to startle her, but it was pointless. She jumped and turned around to look over at me with exhausted eyes that said she hadn't slept a wink. "Oh babe," I moaned, drawing her from the ground to my chest.

Her arms slithered around my neck in a motion so natural, I don't even think she noticed that she did it anymore. I did, though. Every single time she wrapped her perfect arms around my thick neck, I remembered just how lucky I was to have her holding me. I laid her down in bed and walked to the foot to look at her. _"I checked the chicken last night; I thought I'd cooked it all the way through,"_ I said by way of apology. Fucking chicken on the bone was almost impossible to cook.

_"It wasn't the chicken."_ Her eyes held such surety I wasn't sure what to do. She knew something, I could see the knowledge gleaming in her eyes. _"Let me just, uh, take a nap. Then we'll talk, okay? While Ari's at school." _Why was it so important that Ariana not be home with us? I mean, Charlotte and I made a point not to keep secrets from her. Our parents had sheltered us and then thrust responsibility upon us. Well, me, I guess. I wasn't going to do that to my sister. I opened my eyes to argue with her, but she had already drifted off to sleep again. My patience was just about wearing thin.

Still, I drove my sister to school, regardless of the fact that she could walk just fine. It was nice to have time with her in the morning, just her and me. She and Lotte had time together while I was on patrol or at my new job working at Sam's mechanic shop. I had decided that when Lotte and I had kids, it would worth it for me to drive the kids in to school every morning. I wanted to be the father that mine wasn't. "Bye, Paulie. Love you." I watched in horror as my sister exited the car and jogged straight to some guy that seemed to be waiting for her. I was torn between the desire to get out of the car and throttle the boy and the need to go home to my imprint and find out what was wrong with her.

"I swear on my life if he lays one _finger_ on her," I grumbled as I pulled out of the school's parking lot and drove back to my house. Charlotte was stretching to grab something from the top shelf in the cupboard. "What are you doing?" I asked when she caught my eye.

_"I thought that I put some herbal tea up here somewhere."_

_"And it couldn't wait?"_

_"No."_

_"Lotte, what's going on?"_ She sighed heavily and lowered herself down to the counter and then again to the ground. Normally she would have just jumped straight to the ground and given me a minor heart attack. I should have been happy, but with all the other things she'd been changing, I was just alarmed. She took hold of my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, turning her bright smile on me, meaning to soothe.

_"Wait here, okay? I promise I'll answer all of your questions." _I nodded and sank into the place she was pushing me into on the couch. She was gone for a moment or two only, though. She had been acting a little more normal, which allowed my nerves to settle as I waited for her. Of course, the nervous look on her face said that she wasn't at all at ease. She kept her hands clasped behind her back. Something smelled a little off, but I couldn't place it. "Whatever your reaction is to this," she began slowly, "I'm not changing my mind. Okay?"

It was rare that she was this stubborn about something. My heart stuttered a little, but I nodded anyways. She brought out a little white strip-looking thing from behind her, sinking down beside me. She held the plastic between her hands, looking down on it and refusing to meet my eyes. Two pink lines stood there, bold and definite. My hands trembled as I tried to lift them to make some words. I couldn't. I took a deep breath to make it a little better and managed to a simple sentence out. _"What is that?"_

"What does it look like, Paul?" she asked with a little chuckle in her voice. "I, um, I took a few of them," I admitted. "And I went to the doctor's."

"That's where you were when you went into town with Emily?" She nodded, her lips quivering like she was close to tears"Why didn't you tell me?"

She set the test down on the coffee table, laying it on a tissue and then turning to face me. _"I was waiting for the right moment, I guess. I was planning to tell you today, I promise. Not just because I was getting sick. I was waiting to get the results back from the doctor's, too. I didn't want anything to be a fake positive."_

_"Why didn't you tell me when you first _**_thought _**_you might be?"_

_"Because we've just graduated high school. I didn't want you to feel - - to feel pressured or anything. I know you have that job and you have patrol, but money has always been a worry and -'_

_"Don't you want the baby?" _

_"You think I don't _**_want_**_ our baby?" _She barked a laugh at me. _"Paul, I've never been so happy in all of my life. I wasn't afraid of telling you because I didn't want our child, Paul, but because I didn't want you to feel forced." _I wrapped my arms around her and brought her close to my chest, just beside my heart. She sighed, like she could hear it beating for her.

I pulled back enough so that she could read my lips and _hear_ me in her own way. "I don't feel forced, Charlotte LaHote; I feel blessed." She brought her hand up to my lips, her nails grazing my upper lip. I saw her lips tweak a little in a slight smile, but she didn't move her fingers. "What?"

"I like watching you say my new name." I smiled at her, wishing that she could know just how happy it made me to get to say her new name. She switched her hand around to cup my cheek. I couldn't help myself. I leaned into the heat of her palm and smiled wider when she kept her hand on my cheek. "You're going to make a great father, Paul. I just know it." We had learned from our parents. I wouldn't be the man that my father was. I wouldn't be the man that her father was.

"We're going to have a baby?" I asked just be sure. She smiled at me brighter than anything that I had ever seen.

"We're going to have a baby," she confirmed. I jumped up and swung her around in my arms, her feet spinning around off the ground.

"I'm going to be a daddy."


	82. Epilogue

**Author's Note: Okay, here it is. This is the official end. I know it's a little cliche, but I think the cliche moments are the ones that we secretly love. Enjoy!**

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**_Five Years Later_**

**Epilogue**

_"I love you. Be safe."_ I touched a curl on Ariana's head and moved it back into the elegant up-do we had done for her senior prom. Her date was standing in the entry of our home, undoubtedly get a glare from Paul. _"Your first day, Ari. Aren't you excited?" _

_"It wouldn't be my first date if Paul wasn't so overprotective."_

I place a hand on my newly rounded belly and smiled at her. _"You would think after two he wouldn't be so crazy."_ She beamed at me and dropped her hand to her niece or nephew to be. _"I hope you know how long it took me to convince him to let you go," _I added with a smile.

_"Yes, well, Zach and I appreciate it. _I should get going before Paul changes his mind." I nodded and ushered her towards the front door. Her date, a young Zach, was shifting uncomfortably as Paul growled from the sofa, holding our children on his lap. I waved a dismissive hand at him, hoping to get him to stop, and walked over to where Ari stood. I turned quickly on Paul with a dark look. _"Stop that and come and say goodbye. Tell your sister she looks beautiful and knock this shit off."_

_"You cursed in front of the children."_

_"Paul?" _I warned. He placed our son and daughter on the couch, smoothing their hair away from their faces and came to my side. _"Don't threaten him, but tell him the rules."_

_"He knows the rules!" _Ariana insisted, her hands flying in exasperation. I smiled at her and then turned it to date with the same sympathetic smile. Paul had been on edge, knowing what was coming. It was like watching our firstborn child go away. Of course, I would agree that Paul had sheltered his darling baby sister for far too long. Hopefully he wouldn't do the same with our little one.

Paul went over the rules with haste. Ariana was to be inside the house, not sitting in his car outside, no later than midnight. If he could catch even the tiniest whiff of drugs or alcohol, the cops would be called. If Ari came back to him with anything out of place, assumptions would be made. The list of Paul's ridiculous decrees could go on and on. "Have fun," I called out when the couple walked down the stone pathway that led to our house. The yard certainly had changed. No longer was it just pretty flowers that Paul and Ari had planted once upon a time. Now it was full kids' toys and play areas.

A cry must have sounded behind us, because Paul turned on his heels and marched straight into the house. Nina May came out with her father, her chubby little hands wrapped tight around her daddy's neck. She had him wrapped around her finger and she knew it. At nearly four and a half, she was more like Paul than either of us wanted to admit.

She inherited his looks, which I didn't mind in the least. It was his temperament, mostly his temper, that caused problems for the two of us. She was a wild child, enjoyed running around, chasing her brother until his wobbly legs gave out and he fell to the ground, enjoyed teasing her cousins. She definitely didn't like being crossed, though. Much like Paul, my little girl was incredibly defensive of her family. Prime example, playing at the park outside of her school one day last week, a young boy came up to Nina's little brother and oh so kindly shoved him in the sand. My son, needless to say, began screaming. Being her father's daughter, Nina grabbed the boys head and shoved it in the sand. "Don't touch my little brother," she'd screeched.

PJ spent the rest of the day following in his sister's shadow, letting her protect him from any of the older children that may be lurking about. Our son, Paul Henry LaHote, who we called PJ, could very well be his father's clone. In looks. Like me, our beautiful boy had been born deaf. Doctor's told us that there was a possibility that he could regain his hearing as he aged... They'd told my parents the same thing and I never had.

At first, I will admit, I was devastated. I knew what it was like to be a deaf person in a hearing world. Paul had been the one to assuage my worries. He spent countless hours hold the babe against his chest and me against his side, humming the same lullaby that he'd always sung to me. Four months after he'd been born, Paul laid down beside me with our daughter in one arm and our son in the other. "You know that it will be easier for him, right?" I had looked at him in question. "PJ; being deaf will be easier for him than it was for you."

_"Why do you say that?" _I had asked. I wouldn't say that it was ever anything easy.

"I shouldn't say that it will be easy," he'd corrected. "But it will be different. Both of your parents were hearing, which meant that no one helped you figure out how to get through life. Besides that," he rushed forward when I lifted my hands, "your mother walked out on you and your father didn't want to be home. You thought that it was because of your deafness. You didn't think of yourself as... Let's not start this, shall we?" I'd nodded. "It will be different for PJ. His mother can help him get through the world and his father will _never_ desert him."

Now two, PJ had a huge vocabulary in sign language. Paul was working with him on his speaking, hoping that we could help him avoid the awkwardness that came with speech for a deaf child. It was simply because we couldn't hear the sounds that people were attempting to force him to make. He was thriving in the world, though. Of course, that may be because the boy spent the majority of his time with me at home. Until kindergarten in the upcoming year, I intended to have both my babies home with me.

Bringing me back to the present, Paul placed Nina on the ground and came to stand behind me, his hands splaying over my belly. I leaned back against his chest and waited for the inevitable fluttering movements in my stomach. Whenever Paul put his hand against the mound, the babe would kick a little. "He likes his father," I muttered. I felt his chest vibrate against my shoulders and knew he was speaking. Probably saying something about wanting another little girl, like Nina. If we had one half as meddlesome, we couldn't handle her.

I, personally, had given up on trying to give the baby a gender before birth. We never would let the ultrasound technician tell us. I just wanted one that was healthy and whole. I turned in Paul's arms to tell him that I would like to Ari name our next little monster, but his eyes were dark and brooding. "What's that look?" I asked him.

"If he steps out of line with her, so help him God," he managed. I was amazed that he understood it with his lips in such a tight line.

I opened my mouth to tell him that he needn't worry when a cute little hand tugged at the hem of my shirt. _"Mama, I know what we should name the new baby,"_ my daughter announced. I could see the excitement burning in her dark eyes.

_"What should we name our new baby?" _Paul asked her.

_"Charlie."_ She used the name sign that was used around the Pack, or as she knew them, her aunts and uncles.

"Your mama is already a Charlie, Nina-Bean," he laughed, lifting her to his hip. PJ came waddling out from the living room, apparently tired of playing with his toys. I lifted him as well. There we stood, one happy family missing our eldest "daughter."

_"I know, but Mama can't hear when people _**_call_**_ her Charlie. So we can name the new baby Charlie and then Mama can have a baby with the same name. Like you have PJ."_ I couldn't help but giggle at her. Paul's face flushed. He obviously didn't like her logic, seeing as it included my lack of hearing. He looked at the little girl, but she quickly lifted her hands. _"I know, I know, Mama can't hear but she's just the same as everyone else. PJ is the same way."_ She looked utterly bored and sighed heavily, her little chest rising and falling with the motion.

PJ rolled his eyes at his sister's antics and squirmed to get out of my hold. _"Mama, ball?"_ I nodded sweetly and held my hand out for him to take. PJ, however, took Paul's other hand and attempted to tug the both of us down to the stairs with him.

_"Mama, can I have a play day with Marcus?" _Nina asked me when Paul had dropped her to the ground as well.

_"Who?" _Paul's eyes had turned to complete black.

_"Marcus Redtree."_ The Redtrees certainly weren't Paul's favorite people.

_"Why would you want to go and play with him?" _I asked, ignoring my husband's chagrin.

_"Because, Mama, he's my boyfriend. Everyone knows that." _PJ nodded at me with wide, innocent eyes. I turned, feeling as if I could hear my husband's growls of distress.

"These children will be the death of me." I just kept laughing and walked away. Paul jogged around to the front of me. "I know you heard me."

"Sorry my love," I replied with a smile. I cupped my hands over his ears. "I hear no evil."


End file.
